Avalon
by knirbenrots
Summary: While his identity has been compromised, her cover gets better with Callen around… Callen/OC with another - wellknown - character. And in the end, there is some crossover indeed...
1. Chapter 1

_**We all know that no fanfiction writer owns any characters. **_

_**I am very gratefull to be able to 'use' G. Callen and some of his team members in this story. **_

* * *

It happened before, when Keelson had managed to compromise his identity. But with Keelson dead and the large warehouse blown up, all information should be lost as well.

He remembered that Keelson had threatened to sell the information to anyone interested, but for a price. With his past, there would be people willing to pay because of revenge or because of pay back.  
However, this all was nearly two years ago and nothing had happened ever since.

Until two days ago, when someone had managed to get into his work e-mail.  
Even Eric had not been able to trace where this hack came from.  
The series of e-mails sent to his account sometimes were only texts, like a row of cases he had been working on during his time with the DEA. Some others contained embedded vids with sometimes sickening, horrible scenes of places he had visited under a CIA cover.  
But what shocked them most, was a mail with names of his team members and another one with a list of addresses where he had lived and video footage of his current address.

Protocol had to be followed, and until the person behind all this was found, Callen knew he had to cut all contacts with his team and with NCIS. It would have to be the other way around as well.  
Texting 'Beauregard + being Merlin' to Hetty and getting rid of his phone.  
No time for good byes. Just time to grab a bag with some spare clothes, a wallet filled with cash money only, a fake driver's license and a passport of an alias from a locker at LAX and catch the ferry to Catalina. Become a ghost on the island.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

'Rooms available'  
Only a small note on the window of a nice house on Wrigley Road, Avalon. He might try it, he appreciated it above hotels. Besides that, private house owners mostly preferred cash money.  
He rang the bell, but nobody came to the door. He knocked on the window, no reaction.  
Just as he was about to leave, there was a female voice behind him.

"Nobody home?"  
He looked around, saw a woman, early thirties he guessed. She looked good in black runners clothes, even being sweaty after a run.

"Apparently not", he responded.

"You might want to leave a message", she said.

"That won't be necessary", Callen reacted. He was sure he would find another place.

"So sorry", the woman said. "So, you're just leaving?".  
Then, she passed him, took a key from a small pocket on her runner tights and opened the door.  
"Still sure about leaving, Sir?" she said as she turned towards him, with a smile and a twinkle in her grey eyes.

"Well. I'm looking for a room and—ehrm. You have rooms available than?" Callen asked. He felt a bit uncomfortable with the easy and open smile of the woman.

"There is a room vacant indeed", she said. "Want to take a look?"

He didn't hesitate. He needed a place to stay at least for the next few days. "Sure, show me around".

Callen liked the place immediately. Only the kitchen was facing the street. The other rooms had great views towards the beach and ocean. There was a living room downstairs, with next to it a bedroom and bathroom. Definitely hers. The doors from the living room and the bedroom both lead to a large deck, overlooking beach & ocean. In the living room, there was a stairs leading to another large bedroom with an annexed large bathroom and kitchenette. This bedroom had a balcony, also with ocean views.

"There's a separate stairs and door outside, so you can come and go any time you like. Besides that, you can use the garage, which is a small gym actually".

"Great place. Great views. You must love to live here", he said.

"Sure. You know what? There's beer in the fridge. Have one. Look around, think about it. I need a shower first and will join you later".

Callen had often distrusted people and was not used to this easy way of stepping into somebody else's house and home. In his life and with his job, he had met many people and seen many houses. Feeling welcome like now, however, was less usual.

He smiled at her. "Great proposal". He put his bag down, took a beer and sat down on the deck. Meanwhile, he noticed that security measures were up to date, with webcams next to the doors.  
He sighed.  
It felt far from holidays, and yet he could easily relax in here. If only he knew if and how his team would cope without him and if only he could find out what happened…

o)o)o)o)o)

Katherine Franks quickly had her shower. She was glad there seemed to be somebody to rent a room. It would be less suspicious that way. She would be the innocent landlady, a perfect cover.  
She was curious about her guest. He seemed tough, but also quite worried about something and she should find out soon what it was about.

* * *

_Thanks for reading._


	2. Chapter 2

Despite all, Callen felt restless.  
As long as he could remember, he had been moving from house to house and there had only be some times when he felt safe, or when a house felt like home. After he recovered from the fifth of May, he had moved some times until Hetty had him to buy his house. Besides having his own base, he also felt at home with his team, who were like his family.  
Being cut off completely from that, like right now, was awful.

Callen heard her stepping on the deck and turned around. Her dark, pixie hair was still wet from the shower and she was dressed in a white blouse and jeans short. She looked fresh and healthy, even without wearing any make up.

"I see you found a beer", she said as she held her own small bottle of beer up. "Cheers! So, have you made a decision yet?"

"I would like to stay, but only if you accept me as a guest that might have to leave soon again."

"It is no problem, but in that case, could you pay for a week in advance?" she said. "I need the money, the house is expensive, you see".  
She blushed a little and continued "Oh, and I haven't even introduced myself… Hi. I'm Kat, Kat Franks".

Callen had to suppress his natural curiosity. Why would anybody live in an expensive house if they could not afford it? Not now, he decided. He did not need to know it.  
"Hi Kat. I'm George MacAllen."

"Well, George. What brings you to visit Avalon?"

He sighed. "Bit of a burn out, and hiding from an ex-girlfriend. Just needed a time out."

Kat had noticed a worrisome gaze, but it didn't make sense to her that he was the person to suffer from a burn out right now.  
She could imagine an ex-girlfriend, though. He was handsome, the adventurous type of guy who would always be attractive for women. Even the kind of guy she would chose for herself, if ever she would settle down.  
However, she should not think of things like this, as she had her job to do and she needed no extra worries at all.

"You know what, George? Enjoy the views and have another beer if you like to. I'll be preparing dinner, and if you want, I could make yours as well. I planned to make a pasta salad. However, if you prefer to go out, I know some addresses in town too".

"I would like to join you", he said. "Maybe I should give you a hand?"

Kat wasn't too sure about that. When she was preparing food, it was easy to let her thoughts run free about this running case.  
But seeing how eager he seemed to be to do something, she couldn't resist.

"Are you a good cook?"

"Probably not as good as you. I'm used to just grab something eatable, if not from my own fridge, I will find a night shop or buy myself a pizza. But I'll manage with the salad, with your help."

Although she recognized that way of taking care of dinner, Kat managed not to show it.  
"Does it have to do something with your job?" she asked.

Callen hesitated just a few seconds about his answer. He could not give away too much of course.  
"I guess so. I travel a lot and work at unusual times."

"Can't imagine how that will be" she answered.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It wasn't true at all.  
Kat was all too familiar with that kind of living, but it was something he did not need to know.  
She had arrived in Avalon only two weeks ago, following her suspect from Europe, via Washington, to Catalina. The house she stayed in belonged to one of the sheriffs deputies and he had helped her to redecorate it quickly, so, that it looked as it had been hers all the time.

Kat mostly worked alone, in Europe. This time it was international and she was glad there had been a good briefing in Washington. Her contacts in there had provided some handy materials.

During her runs and during walks to the grocery store, she checked if the suspect was still around. She had dropped some listening devices close to the place he stayed and planned to listen to today's tapes later on.  
There was one thing that bothered her right now. The fact that she had not been able to reach her contact, the sheriff's deputy, for some days already.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen had noticed that she became less talkative. He could feel there was something on her mind that she did not want to share.

She felt his gaze. A quick glance showed that he looked at her indeed with his bright blue eyes, a little smirk on his face.  
"Something **you** want to share?" she simply asked.

It surprised him that she seemed to be able to read his mind. Hetty had told him many times that it was not something one could learn, it was 'ones nature' as she stated it. It obviously was in her nature, as it was in his.

"Not right now," he said, "or it should be dinner".

She sent him a coy smile. It was good to have somebody, him, around. It took away some tension of the last couple of days.

They managed to make a proper meal together, talking about nothing special in particular.

After dinner, she was going to visit the police station to find out if they knew more about Huntington and to listen to the tapes.

Kat had noticed he didn't have a lot of luggage.  
"If you want to, you can use my laptop" she told him. "I'll be in a friend's place for the next few hours".

Callen was grateful for that chance. Maybe he could find out more about 'his' case. He should find an internet café on the island the next day.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

At the Office of Special Projects, the team had no ongoing cases. They finished some paperwork earlier that day.

Kensi sighed heavily. "This is so wrong guys. We don't know where he is or how he is".

"Hey, you are talking about Callen. Not any ordinary guy. He's the one who always survives. He might just be watching us right now without you noticing. The ghost, legendary for being unnoticed, you told me yourself," Deeks said.  
He did not know if he said it to convince her or to convince himself as well.

"Might be so Deeks, but as long as we don't know who's behind it, Callen is the prey, not the hunter. And he is on his own, nobody to have his back," Sam said, worried as he was about his partner.  
He was about to see Hetty when there was a famous whistle from Eric, noting they should come in the ops room.

"We've got a dead John Doe at Long Beach" Eric briefed.

"And? John Doe's aren't related to NCIS, are they, unless they're dead marines?"

"That, Mr Deeks, is true. However, our John Doe was dressed in an uniform and heavily mutilated. Your task to find out more about the who, the why, the what and the how".  
They had not heard Hetty entering the ops room.

Hetty knew they weren't keen on another case right now. She just assigned this case to them to keep the team focused. It might work to clean their heads so that missing pieces in Callen's case might come easier to their mind.

Without their lead agent around, it was different in the bullpen.  
Callen usually was the one kept them all sharp in discussions and who could, with only some remarks of the others, jump to conclusions and make important decisions.  
Now he was gone and somebody somewhere knew too many things about him. That somebody needed to be stopped and those things should be put back in a safe place as soon as possible.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Kat was very concerned that Huntington still hadn't shown up.  
He had offered his assistance in this case of human trafficking. It was a large case, involving some European countries, the United States and Mexico.

Kat had started the case from within Europe, where she was stationed for ICE. When she found out about an American connection it became an international case and her superiors had briefed several agencies.  
It was decided that the European suspect should enter the States without suspicion and that Kat, as a US citizen, would stay as close as possible. And here they were, on Catalina. One of the agencies had recruited Huntington, a former DEA agent, to assist her.  
Last thing she heard that he was about to contact an agency in Los Angeles, but he had not left any other information.

At the police station, they knew she came every other day to use the technical equipment of her agency, so that her own computer could not be traced at all. She did carry a small hard disk with her, on which some information could be stored.  
This night, she should be back at the beach house earlier than other nights. She could do some transcripts of the hearing devices later on, she decided before she sneaked out.  
She took the walk back through the beach way and entered the deck from the beach, only to discover that her guest had closed the doors.

Maybe he just went for a walk on the beach, she thought. She settled in one of the bear chairs on the deck and took two of the blankets that were kept there, and waited.  
With the fresh sea air and the calming sound of waves, she fell asleep right on the spot.

Callen had taken a walk on the dark beaches indeed. It helped a bit to clean his head. He had tried to find anything on the computer that might help to solve his case but of course it was just a simple laptop and he could not get into the mainframes of his agency.  
It was frustrating and he had needed to get rid of that frustration. He found a dark and lonely part of the beaches on the island, south from the village, and he had liked to be there. Now he should get back to the house, before his host would be back.

When he stepped on the deck from the beach side, he saw her, curled up under a blanket. For a while, he watched. She looked sweet and now, sleeping, innocent as well. Maybe the kind of woman he would have chosen himself. But right now, being an alias, he was just using her and her house as a temporary place and he should not jeopardize her.

He gently touched her arm, to wake her up. To his surprise, she was immediately alert and ready to attack him.  
"Whoow—you calm down now, I did not mean to attack you," Callen said, as he stepped back, puzzled by her reaction.

Kat blinked her eyes a couple of times and slowly relaxed.  
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's the kind of reaction that you have when you're living alone too long, I guess".

Callen said nothing, just reached his hand to help her up. He looked into her grey eyes, but there was nothing else she gave away.

* * *

_**Thanks for reading! **_

_**reviews are welcome**_


	3. Chapter 3

Sleep and Kat had never been good friends. She often slept only three hours at night, or had her cat-naps, as her grandma would call them.  
The lack of sleep became worse once she had to stay sharp in her work. Strangely enough, she was sharp now, which made it odd that she slept so easily on such an uncomfortable place.  
His touch had alarmed her and she felt a bit sorry for him that her reaction to it seemed to have scared him. His blue eyes had locked into hers as if he was looking for more than her answer.

"You should not live alone than", he said with a faint smile.

"Maybe I'm not the most likeable person to live with", Kat reacted catty.  
She was tired and still had some things to do. Besides that, she liked his company but she hated to lie about her life in Avalon. She wanted to avoid discussing anything about her personal life with this George.

"Just let me open the door", Callen said.  
Perhaps he should not have made that remark. Until now, it had been easygoing, although he had never been good in chitchats. Because he didn't know anything about her, his remark might have hurt her and he felt a bit stupid that he had not thought of that.  
After all, his own feelings had been hurt so many times in his life that he preferred not to talk about personal stuff.

"Look, I'm sorry," Kat said. "I am tired and I had a bad dream and waking up right now makes me realize I need to do some homework and study while I prefer to do something else. I hope I didn't offend you".

"You didn't", Callen simply stated, "But take care, it sounds as if you are very busy, I know how that is. So, what is it you're studying?"

"Physical Therapy", Kat answered.  
It was another lie but she had found study materials in the house so it must have been Huntington's. However, it had been part of her training, once, so she did know some things about it.

"Have you seen the gym?" she asked. "You might want to use it and if you need any help, I can explain all to you. Some people come here for exercises or massages".

"Really?"

Kat liked the way he raised his eyebrow, as if he couldn't imagine it.  
"Yes, really. What did you think I would do for a living then?"

He looked at her and concluded he really didn't know. Maybe a Physical Therapy indeed. But she might just as well be a journalist, or a teacher, a broker or a tourist guide.  
"Funny, I really can't say."

"And you? I would guess…" she observed him, his eyes, his physics, for some seconds, and combined it with his behavior and attitude.  
"You seem to be the adventurous type of man to me, so you might be a journalist in warzones, or perhaps work for the navy. I can see you are used to physical training, maybe for your job".

Callen was amazed and shocked at the same time and he was glad he was trained enough to hide most emotions. Her guesses were damn good, but no way he should tell her.  
"You are so close! I have travelled around the world and made a lot of pictures. And yes, I like to work out".

"Want to take a look in the gym? It has everything you need, I'll show you. Study can wait till later tonight or tomorrow."

"Having a look is always good. Too bad I didn't pack anymore clothes".

"You can find anything on the island you need. Just ask if you need a shopping assistant. But there is a spare set of sports clothes", she said with a smile.

Callen followed her. She explained that there were three ways to enter this room: from her kitchen, from the back way, next to the stairs up to his apartment, and from the neighbors' alley.  
He was surprised about the fitness equipment in this small room.

"It is a great place indeed to do some workouts".

"It is indeed, and I love to work in here too."

He saw the treatment table and wondered how it would be if she was his physiotherapist who would massage his sore muscles after another action in his job which was sometimes like some movie scene.

She interrupted his thoughts.  
"Just go ahead and work out while I do my homework", she said, as she handed him a grey shirt, sweat shorts and some towels.  
Then she left the small gym.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Homework did not have anything to do with Physical Therapy at all. Kat connected a small micro card into a special device that she connected to her external hard drive, and plugged in a headphone.  
The only thing she needed to find out was the name of the messenger and contact in the States. With that information this case could be solved when several arrest would be made by teams in Europe, Mexico and the mainland of the United States  
She had been working on this case for a half year already and she really hoped it soon would be over so she could relax in a place like this, for real.

Now, she concentrated on the language. Romani wasn't an easy language, and the tapes made her have to switch to Spanish every now and then.  
Five hours of listening, and again no clues at all.

Katherine Frank's night had still four hours left to get some sleep.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen felt better after he punched and kicked the boxing column and did some spinning. He was grateful that Kat had left him alone, so he could simply let his thoughts go.

During the days he got his earlier burn notice, nearly two years ago, he stayed close by and operated from a familiar surroundings.  
This time, he was literally cut off from all contacts, because names and addresses of himself and his team were known. This was either inside information, or information from Keelson that had been supplemented with new facts.  
From here, there was nothing he could do but to wait until there would be the small advertisement in the LA times would appear 'bellevue' plus an address where he could turn to.  
This reminded him that he needed to buy the newspaper every day. He hoped the message came soon.

He slept remarkably well and woke up with the sound of waves on the beach, a relaxing sound. He opened the balcony doors, stepped out and breathed in the fresh air.  
At this early hour, the beach was very quiet. Some runners, some surfers and some lonely towels, waiting for their owners who went for a swim. His eyes fell on a woman who just came out of the water and took a towel. Good looking, he noticed. Then he saw it was his landlady, Kat Franks.

Kat had made some fresh coffee and went for her early morning swim. She liked it, the struggle between her and the cold ocean. After half an hour, she decided it was enough. When she came out of the water, she saw him standing on the balcony, looked great in only a pair of shorts. He must have noticed she saw him looking, because he went inside.  
Still grinning, she took her towel.

Only some seconds later, she was glad she could hide behind her towel. Panic stroke Kat when she saw her suspect and a latino running on the beach, quickly observing 'her' house. She was grateful that George MacAllen was inside and that they did not look her way.  
The men gestured something and said something she could not overhear, and ran further.  
She took a deep breath. Had it been a coincidence or had they found out about her work and whereabouts? How could she find out about that?  
Still preoccupied she went inside, took a shirt that she put over her swimsuit and poured herself a cup of coffee.

It got worse when the phone rang.

"Hello?—Yes, that is correct—No, not his wife, a friend—Oh no.—Where? When?—Me? Did you ask sheriff Young?—Right. No, It's okay. I can take the 10.40 ferry and be in Long Beach at 11—He's LAPD? Uh-hu. I get it. Bye."

She buried her head in her hands and rubbed her temple. Huntington, dead. Her gut feel had been right. And now she was really on her own.

Half way the stairs, because he wanted to ask her if he could get some coffee, Callen had heard her talking on the phone. Something bad must have happened, she looked sad indeed.

"Hey, is all right?"

She looked at him and sighed. "No, not at all. A friend of me died and I have to go to the mainland".

"Sounds bad. Is there anything I can do, Kat?"

She looked up in his gorgeous blue eyes and felt tears pricking her eyes.  
"Not now, thank you".

There was just some time left before she had to take the ferry. Until that time she needed to be alone.  
"You can take some coffee and things for breakfast. Use my kitchen, no problem," she said and she stepped into the gym.

She quickly wrapped her hands and punched and kicked the boxing column, which helped to lose some tension. She still felt tears and when she stopped to wipe them away, he was there.

"Glad you found a real enemy", he tried.  
Exactly the wrong words for Kat. Two more punches and she was all in tears. His arms were a better place to be and it felt so good to be comforted against his chest.

"I'm sorry, George", she sniffled. "Just feeling sad."  
Although she wanted to stay and feel save close to him, she stepped back and took a deep breath.  
"Listen, I have to leave soon. I'll be back later tonight. In case anything, ehm, strange might happen, please contact sheriff Young, or try my mobile phone. Both numbers are in the kitchen drawer upstairs."

Callen was amazed about this girl. She pulled herself quickly together, she was a better fighter than much of his colleagues and it was clear there was something bothering her more than she wanted to tell him.  
"There's nothing I can't handle, Kat. I'll be alright, don't worry".

The way he said that, convinced her. "Good to hear. Now I'm off for a quick shower and will leave."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

At 11 am, detective Marty Deeks waited at the ferry terminal. Only some minutes later, he opened the door for an all Californian young woman, tanned, healthy, and yes, good looking too.  
"Katherine Franks?"

She nodded and stepped in his car.

* * *

_Thanks for reading!_

_**Your reviews means a lot to me**__, thank you,_  
_Richtsje_


	4. Chapter 4

_curious? keep reading!_

* * *

It had not taken them too long to find out who the dead person was.  
Fingerprints never lie and it took Nell Jones' computer only half an hour to find out that the man who was now in the morgue, was Nathan Huntington, a former DEA-agent who worked in Avalon as a police officer.

"If the other issues Hetty wants from us go in the same pace, this case can be closed before dinnertime," Deeks said.

Sam had called the police station on Catalina and the officer in charge gave the phone number he dialed. It would be a difficult phone call, the message he would have to give was even hard in a face to face message, let alone at a distance.

"Is this the number of Nathan Huntington?—And you are mrs Huntington?—Oh, I see. Well, miss Franks, I'm sorry to have to tell you that mr Huntington has died.—We do not know what happened exactly, but we need somebody in here to identify him.—Yes, we contacted Young and he gave this number, saying you might be able to come.—Good to hear. It would come in very handy.—It is no problem, detective Marty Deeks, LAPD, will be able to pick you up. He will be driving a Chevrolet Malibu, silver, and you'll recognize him right away. He's like the guy from Scooby-doo.—Thank you. We'll meet you later".

"Really Sam? Did you have to add that information. You might describe my serious face, blue eyes and blonde curly hair. Why Scooby-doo, she—".

"Oh please Deeks", Sam interrupted. "Calls like this are difficult enough. Next time it's your turn and you'll probably describe me like a famous rapper or hiphop-artist. You'll be forgiven."

"Boys, stop mocking around. We should continue. The sooner we're ready, the more time we have to find out about what happened to Callen", Kensi said.

Actually, Eric had been using nearly all his equipment 24 hours to track the information, being continuously watched by Hetty and Kensi.  
Still, he had not succeeded to come with new information.

The three of them decided that Deeks was going to pick up Katherine Franks, drive her to Rose, the coroner, where she could identify the victim.  
After that, they would meet with Sam and Kensi at the boathouse.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

There was only one silver Chevy at the parking lot and Kat stepped towards it.  
"Katherine Franks?"

She nodded and stepped into the car.

"My name is Marty Deeks, LAPD. I'm going to drive you to the morgue for identifying the victim. After that, we want to ask you some questions".

"What happened to Nathan?" Kat wanted to know.

"I can't tell you in here right now. It will have to wait".

Deeks quickly glanced at his passenger and saw that she did not like his answer. "I'm sorry, it's protocol".  
She seemed to be self-assured and strong enough. He hoped she did not completely freak in the morgue, like some people did. He really hated that.

"Alright then. And please don't worry, I can handle it", she said softly.  
It surprised Deeks, it was as if she could read his mind.  
The rest of the drive was quiet.

She was right though, she could handle it.  
As ever, Rose was talking nervously as if she was afraid for what other people would say.  
"You will notice that he has been tortured. Or perhaps you will not see, but it is what we could make of it. It's not a nice sight though, so if you—"

"It is alright. You can show me" Kat said.  
Despite the fact that she was calm on the outside, her head was whirling with all information and questions.  
It was not a nice sight, the coroner was right. Kat felt sick. Huntington had probably been tortured because of his activities on Catalina, and had been killed either before or after he had given information. She should find another place as soon as possible, and she sincerely hoped that George MacAllen was safe for now.  
"It's Nathan indeed", she confirmed.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Half an hour later, Kat found herself in a plain room, decorated with only a table, three chairs and lots of plywood. She noticed the small camera's in the angles of the room. A typical interrogation room in a very odd surroundings, a boathouse in the LA Marina.  
In came a large man who introduced himself as Sam Hanna.

"So, Katherine Franks. We would like to know what happened to mister Huntington. What can you tell us about him?"

"Where to start," she said. "We're friends and he rented out the house. I volunteer at the police station, entering data. We worked together, sometimes we went out together, we ran together, grabbed something to drink after work, do things good friends do. Yet it was just good friends, nothing more".

She saw the glimpse of recognition on his face.  
"And last week he told me he had to go to the mainland. I don't know for what or why, but I got worried when he did not return my calls of yesterday and the day before".

"Do you know what case he was working on?"

"Did you ask his superior?" Kat was curious to know.

"We didn't, no".

She looked straight into the agent's brown eyes. "Human trafficking."

In the main area, Kensi and Deeks were closely observing Sam's talking with Katherine Franks.

"I would say she's telling the truth, and still… it is as if she knows even more than she is telling," Kensi said.  
"Nell, can you find any information about Katherine Franks?"

"On it!" was the prompt reaction from ops.

* * *

_**keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing :-)**_

Thanks for reading,

Richtsje


	5. Chapter 5

Sam liked the discussion he was having. The grey eyes of the younger woman were curious and her quick responses and direct way of asking something in return reminded him, strangely enough, a bit of his own partner.

"I need a cup of tea. Can I bring something for you too?"

"Sure, a black coffee would be great."

Kat knew he went to see his team members as well, probably for a quick consultation.  
Maybe they needed the break to win time while they were checking her background, which was solid enough, even for another agency like theirs. It was not LAPD, but Hanna had not really introduced the agency either.

He came in with the beverages, closed the door and sat down again.

"So, now you are going to ask me how I knew Huntington," Kat said. "And I will tell you. We went to college together and we kept in contact. I was looking for a relaxed time on the island after I spent some time in Europe. In return for staying in Avalon for free, I helped a bit at the police station".

Sam heard Nell talking in his earwig.  
"All she is saying is correct Sam, it matches with what our computers found on her".

"Please, tell me, did sheriff Young tell you anything about any special taskforce Nathan had been joining?" Kat was curious.

"We hardly spoke with the sheriff", Sam answered. "He immediately gave your number. Maybe we'll contact him later. For now, do you know who we should contact, are there any next of kin as far as you know?"

Kat really did not know and there was no way to find out from here.  
"Really, I don't know if his parents are still alive. I should go through his personal stuff and call you about it".  
She hoped this would be it. Too bad, he had another question.

"Is there anything else you can tell us, do you know more about the case he was working on, human trafficking?"

"Hardly anything. Nathan told me about connections with Mexico, fishing boats filled with drugs and bringing young women into the United States".  
Now she could not tell anything more. It might blow her own case if she went on with the information she had.

Although Kensi noticed that now she was avoiding something, she could see that Katherine Franks never told anything that was not true.

"It is okay Sam. It's enough, we should let her go. She is not a suspect. Ask her how to contact her".

"Right. Well, miss Franks, you have been very helpful. My colleague, Marty Deeks, will drive you back to the ferry terminal. If there is anything else you remember, please contact us. And if it is the other way around, we will contact you, alright?"

"Alright", she said and she accepted the card with the number he had given her. Both Sam and she got up from their chairs.

Sam had missed Callen's quick conclusive remarks in this room. They really needed to find out about his partner's case and to have him back soon.

Kat looked forward to seeing MacAllen soon, she was glad to have somebody around her in the Avalon house right now.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

In Avalon, Callen had bought a newspaper that he finished reading soon. No clearing message yet.  
He had been looking for an internet café on the island, and although he found two, he had gladly taken the offer of Kat to use her laptop again. He had opened the door to the deck, downstairs and enjoyed the fresh sea air coming inside.  
He knew he would not find anything new, scrolling the web, yet it helped him to kill time. He was pre-occupied when the phone rang and he automatically answered it.

"Yes".  
A male voice was asking. "Is this Nathan Huntington speaking?"

Callen realized he should not have answered the phone.  
"Nope. You must have dialed the wrong number."  
And he disconnected.

Nathan Huntington. He entered the name and started googling it. He found three hits, which should have alarmed him but oddly enough they didn't.  
The first was a short message of half a year ago and mentioned that Huntington was stationed in Avalon. Both the other hits were on crime alert. Nathan Huntington had been found killed in Long Beach and his murder was being investigated.  
Looking further, Callen was stunned. Nathan Huntington lived in this house indeed. It never belonged to Kat Franks.  
So, was she who she said she was?

It usually took quite some time for Callen to trust other people. Although it was clear that Kat might have hold something back, he had felt at ease being with her.  
Now, all that suddenly changed.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Kat was glad she had left Long Beach, but wasn't too keen on staying in Avalon.  
She didn't feel very safe anymore, now that Huntington definitely would not come back. Had somebody obtained information during torturing Nathan?  
Did the suspect on Avalon, with or without help of Mexicans, know who she was, where she lived?  
She decided she was giving it one more night to go, one more time to endlessly listening to a tape. She should leave early next morning.  
Kat knew she was balancing on a thin line. What bothered her too, was that she might endanger her guest, George MacAllen.

She took her key and opened the door. The moment she stepped inside, she was pushed to the wall and an angry voice asked  
"Now, who are you, Kat Franks?"

* * *

_**Thank you for reading. Please, do review!**_

For now, Merry Christmas to you all

Richtsje


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey... Did I tell y'all that it is great to be able to share all the characters that Shane Brennan brought to us in #NCIS-LA? Sharing and dreaming, but of course all of them belong to Brennan & CBS..._

* * *

"Sam"?  
He was about to home, just like Kensi and Deeks were. It had been a long day, the Huntington-case had not been solved and they still had not found out anything new in Callen's case.

Nell came running down the stairs, looking quite upset.  
"Sam, I don't know what happened exactly, but about that woman, Katherine Franks? You won't believe it, but all this came up."

She showed him pages of information.

"While Eric and I were following the IP-addresses from where we found Callen's personal things, suddenly this information was put on the same server.  
Katherine Franks is who she says she is, but she's far more than that. She is one of the best agents working for the Joint Terrorism Task Force, ICE, and before that Interpol and FBI".

Sam took a quick look at Nell's tablet.  
"Kensi, Deeks, let's get back to ops. We should all see this", he decided.

Nell had been so right. It was about the same as with all the info they had found on Callen. Surveillance footage, names, addresses, cases, aliases. Nothing seemed to be secret anymore.

"We should warn her agency, Sam," Kensi said.

"First we have to tell Hetty."

"Hetty knows", said the petite Operations Manager, standing behind them. "And her agency has been informed too. The difference with our agency, with our agent Callen, is that HE knew. This agent is unaware of what is happening."

"What was she working on Hetty, does it have anything to do with the death of Nathan Huntington?" Sam wanted to know.

"Mr Hanna, I don't know exactly what she was working on. Homeland Security asked for our assistance, because they cannot reach her and because you will know who you are looking for. The phones are dead, the last ferry just returned to Catalina. The local sheriff has been informed. Mr Hanna, Mr Deeks, Miss Blye, I suggest you take the first ferry tomorrow morning and help to find miss Franks."

It was Eric who quickly swiveled his chair.  
"Guys, you have to see this. The information on Katherine Franks has been re-sent to several other servers. Some information has been added: 'Bids are allowed'."

"So you mean… she's for sale?" Deeks asked.

Kensi was dumbfounded. "Oh noes! Does that go for Callen too?"

"It does, Miss Blye, it does. But Mr Callen knows. He will stay low, don't worry," Hetty said.

"And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the cruel origin of human trafficking. Every enemy, everybody that might have crossed her path,or every sick person that's bidding enough will probably get information on her whereabouts. Or she'll be delivered to the highest bidder."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

'They're here!'  
It was the first thing that came to her mind when she was pushed to the wall. So she kicked and hit the person opposite of her and tried to escape from him.

"Stop it, stop Kat".  
Callen managed to grab her wrists before she could hit him again. Her struggle to break free made him even angrier. He knew he was hurting her when he wrenched her arms to the wall, still aware that she might kick him.

"Now, who are you, Kat Franks?"  
His blue eyes were cold right now, his voice icy and angry.

Kat looked away, definitely not wanting to say anything.

"Dammit. Why are you living in a house that belongs to a dead guy? Why have you been lying to me?"

She answered softly. "I never lied about that. It is Nathan's house indeed. But he knew… he knew, George."

It was something in her words that struck him. Not telling everything did not mean somebody was lying.  
He had not been honest towards her either, but he might endanger her by telling everything.  
It was easy to pretend he was someone else. Living as an alias usually came easy with him, probably because he had to accustom to so many different places and situations ever since he was young.  
Callen wished it could all have been different. His gut feel told him it was alright to trust her, yet, he could not tell her about who he was and why he was here.

Once again, but kinder now, he asked "Who are you, Kat Franks?"

"Listen, George, I am Katherine Franks, just like I said I am. Now could you please let go of me" she asked, looking him in the eyes. "I won't hurt you, promise. It's just that I—"

He sent her a cunning smile "It's just that you don't want me to stand so close to you?"

She blushed. Actually, she really liked the feeling of his body so close to hers. From the sturdy looks and his strong and well-built body, she liked all of it. But her wrists started hurting. Besides that, she was about to tell him that he should leave. Her job should not endanger him. She was still wondering how she should tell him.

"It's just that—I never again want to see you as angry with me as you just were", she said.

"I promise you I won't", he said.  
Looking closely at her, his eyes seemed to darken. He loosened the grip on her wrists a little when he lifted her chin with his left hand and then he surprised her with his kiss.  
Kat sighed. It felt so good and she really loved his body touching hers, his fingers lowering from her chin towards her collarbone, his lips following…  
She swallowed.

Then she heard it.  
From the street and from different places on the beach, backside of the house were the same loud clicking noises. No natural noises. Noises made by men, by a group of men who needed to stay in touch with each other and who all had the same mission.

Callen also heard it, and felt her body tensioning at the same time.

"George, listen. Just leave the house right after me. Go through the kitchen to the gym and take the small door to the neighbor's alley. Stay there until you hear no more of these noises," she said in a quiet voice. "Don't go back. Just leave the island as soon as possible, without being noticed".

Kat looked closely at him, hoping he did not ask any questions and would just do as she said.  
Before he could react, she closed her eyes for just one second, straightened her shoulders, opened the door to the gym and headed for the back door out, not knowing what she'ld face.

* * *

**_Thanks for reading! And, as ever, your reviews are welcome!_**

_Richtsje_


	7. Chapter 7

Kat did not know what was going to happen. She knew though that she should lure who-ever there was outside, away from the house. Maybe she could go for a quick escape to the pebbly south beaches of the island.  
She regretted that her gun was still inside, but there was no time to get it. She had left it there early that morning, simply because she had not known what to expect after stepping in the car with a LAPD officer.

From her position, she could see two persons who were heading for the deck, and two more with small flashlights on the beach. Plus the one on the street side, that made five.  
Kat guessed those men had been responsible for the death of Huntington, and were not afraid of killing.  
She took a deep breath before she started running.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen was confused by everything that happened.

Just when he started to relax, when he finally had decided to set aside one of his principles – never get involved with a woman while using an alias - these noises started and she burst into action.  
All of a sudden, Kat Franks definitely looked as being more than 'just a physical therapist' .  
He took his gun and did exactly what she had asked: leave the house through the gym via the neighbor's alley and stay unnoticed.

But from there, he carefully skulked towards the beach.  
He noticed two men on the deck who were trying to get into the house, but they were easy to pass.

Callen stayed in the dark, watching which way the flashlights went. He did not see Kat anywhere and just as he hoped she got away in time, he heard those freaking clicks again. Both guys who were near the house, ran towards the sounds.  
Then there were splashes in the water, fighting noises, shouting of men, and he heard her.

All the time, he was going through all kind of options. Going in, gun at the ready, in the dark, or waiting for better chances. Now, he wished he had already chosen the first option. Four men could easily kill her right at the spot.  
Just when he was about to step out of the dark, there was a fifth man stepping towards the group.

"Katherine! How glad I am we found you".

Callen heard her say "Dzjeez, sheriff Young. You could have used the front door. Why like this?"

She sounded more relaxed right now and Callen remembered she had told him to turn to the sheriff in case anything strange happened.  
Callen put his gun away and decided that maybe he should do what she had asked him to do: walk away and leave the island. Yet, there was the yearning to stay with her…  
He was slowly walking back towards the house, still hearing what they were talking about.

"We needed you safe, Katherine. They will come looking for you tomorrow."

"Let me get some dry clothes than."

"Not now, we'll have some for you to wear".

Back in the shadows, Callen watched them walk by. Four Latino's, the sheriff and Kat.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

At this time of the night, there were no ferries going to the mainland, so he would have to stay on Catalina.  
Still trying to figure out what happened and why, Callen found the nearest pub and ordered a beer. It was rather quiet in there.

"Hello, I'm Kelly, glad to be at your service tonight. So, here you are, mister handsome, your beer. Tell me, are you staying on Catalina?"  
The blonde waitress definitely tried to impress him with her good looks and her sweet talking.

"I'm staying with a private house owner on Wrigley Road."

"Ah, your Kat's guest then!" she said, more enthusiastically.

"And you know her… how?" Callen got curious.

"Have visited her for a massage last week, and she's been here with Nathan. Poor guy."  
And then she added "Did you know he was found dead?"

Could it be that Kat was really just a therapist, even though he thought she definitely had other skills as well? Perhaps Kelly could tell him more.  
"How long has she been living in Avalon now?"

"You might ask her yourself. She's not making you shy, is she?"  
The waitress looked disappointed. It was obvious this attractive man was not interested in her.

"Sure, I could ask. Guess she'll be sleeping right now, so maybe tomorrow" he said with a faint smile.

He took another sip of his beer when he saw the sheriff coming in, quickly observing the place as if he was looking for somebody.

The waitress hurried to the sheriff. "Still on the job, sheriff Young, or can I tap you a beer too?"

"Not now Kelly."

It was obvious everybody knew everybody in this pub. Callen had second thoughts now about being here. Going unnoticed was not possible anymore with this waitress around.

"So, how are you now, sheriff Young, now you know that poor Nathan died? Have you talked with Katherine, do you know how she feels now her friend died? Oh, did you know that mister ehm…"  
She continued, seeing that Callen was not responding, "this man is staying at Kat's place? Maybe he knows how she is?"

Callen felt both their glances. He pretended not to notice and he did not like the attention at all.

"Hey, mister", he heard the sheriff saying. There was no way ignoring the man, so Callen turned towards him.

"Is Kelly right, are you staying at miss Franks' place?"

Callen noticed Young's eyes were narrowing, definitely a sign which was suspicious.  
"I am indeed".

"Did she talk to you about the death of one of the deputies?"

"She did say a friend of her died. I believe she went to identify him today".

"Nothing else?"

"I'm a guest, not a friend."

"Alright. Thank you, mister…?"

"You're welcome," Callen answered, not giving away anything else.  
He had made his mind up. He would go back to the house, get his duffle bag and borrow Kat's laptop, find another place to stay and start to find out more about Nathan Huntington, Katherine Franks and sheriff Young.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Ea va vorbi?" he asked the others. "Will she talk?"  
He was looking at her, mad but also as a conqueror.

Kat glanced at them and then swallowed. "Nu, ea nu va," [No, she will not] she said, looking defiantly.  
Although it seemed there was no escaping from it, she was not going to say a word.

* * *

_Curious what will happen next? Let me know :-)_  
_Your reviews make continuing writing fun!_

_Richtsje_


	8. Chapter 8

Chechnya, Colombia, Serbia, Mexico, Pakistan and Ukraine…  
Kat was thinking back of cases she had there or possible enemies she had made in those countries or people who came from those countries and she had ran into during cases.

He had just told her that her files were for sale in those countries. He told her that her career would be over from now on.  
That not only her files were for sale, but she would be handed over to the highest bidder within 24 hours. Worse, she had been 'for sale' for the last 24 hours as well, but she had not been aware of that.

He had known who she was and why she was here for days now. Since she could not remember that she had been careless at the police station, they must have gotten this information from Nathan.

And now she finally found out who the contact for the US was and it was too late. She was mad as hell that she had trusted Young. The man had probably been there when they had tortured Nathan, or worse, he could have helped them.

From her position, there was no way she could send the 'agent in distress' code with the small device she had accepted in Washington. She was tied to a large shelving unit in what looked like a remote diving supply shop.

From this position, she was in front of a camera, the wet shirt and skirt she had been wearing, sticking to her body.  
And now he wanted her to say some lines?  
'Never'.

Just like she would never show them that she was scared. She looked in the camera, chin up, brave and obviously fearless.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen decided he would enter the house from the beach side and use the entrance to his apartment on the outside.

It did not really surprise him that it was a complete mess. Somebody had been around the place, looking for something. His duffle bag had been emptied, however, he quickly noticed nothing was missing. He put all his belongings back in.

Then, he took his gun at a ready and headed downstairs. Everything had been torn from its place in there as well. After a quick check it was clear to him that there was nobody around anymore, so he put away the gun.

The laptop was missing and although Callen did not know what they had been looking for or what he should be looking for, he carefully studied the rooms if there was anything else he might notice.  
Clothes, all her personal toiletry, paperwork, even pots and pans… Nothing noticeable.  
Time to go, through the gym this time. Who-ever had been there, had only had a quick look around. Of course, it was only a bare room with the equipment. Between the towels were the booking calendar and her study books. He took a quick look if there were any loose papers, but nothing there.

It was at the page where she had put a pen that he got thunderstruck.  
Some loose words, some comments, jotting about DC and Unknown. It was not that he was shocked about what was written, but the fact that it was partly in a language he knew.  
Romanian.  
Completely focussed on what he found, Callen reacted too slow when he saw two doors opening.

"Jackpot!" was all he heard when he was being hit with tasers from both angles. Right after that, he blacked out.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Any preferences?" he asked with a sickening smirk.  
"You see, I don't know what to choose. Colombia? Ruiz? He is willing to pay a lot of money for you and he doesn't care if you come alive or dead. Or Serbia… Daničić bids more. Maybe he wants to play around with you first".

Kat swallowed.

"Incă nu vorbesc, nu? [still not talking, are you?] Poate că acest lucru va ajuta [maybe this will help]" and he slapped her in her face.

It hurt, but she did not want to show it. "Acesta nu va ajuta" [No, it will not help]".

The two Latino's that were there with him kept smiling. They definitely did not understand the language but seemed to like it that she stood up to their boss.

"She is catty, isn't she?"

"Stop talking and keep filming," was the short response of the leader. Right then, his phone went.  
"Yes?—Good job, Mr. Young. Send me a picture now and bring him here".

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

At the NCIS office of special projects, Eric and Nell had been working in shifts.

It was half way the night that Eric suddenly saw new material popping up online, all sent through the same server which origins he still tried to trace.  
This time it was all kind of material of another former CIA agent, Neil Briggs, again with full identity, lists of cases, names, pictures and more.  
And a video that was sent from the same, non-traceable server.

He had his doubts about opening the video, since the office was nearly deserted.  
Eric Beale was afraid he might find something that was about Callen. Callen, the agent that survived everything, the strong, invincable guy. The one they really missed right now.  
And, because he wasn't a hero at all, that was why he decided to call Kensi. She lived close by, and had no family around like Sam. And he was sure she would not-never-ever blame him for calling in the middle of the night.

Within half an hour, Kensi arrived and the both of them watched the video that Eric now opened.

"Oh crap… This is why the sheriff couldn't reach her" Kensi said as she saw Kat in front of the camera.

"She can't go anywhere Kensi, as they tied her to those shelves".

Quietly, they watched the videostream.  
"It's that language… Heard it before, can't figure out where. If only Callen was here, he would know…"

"They are showing her something nasty too, since she's getting angry with it. And then they just cut it off, the stream".

"Eric, can you make some stills of the vid and send them to our phones? It might come in easy if we are going to Catalina".  
Then, she yawned. "And you know what, inform Hetty tomorrow morning. We both need some sleep now. Let's go home."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Look what our sheriff just found."

He showed her the picture on his phone. George MacAllen, lying on the floor of the gym, unconscious.  
Kat felt very upset.

"Leave him alone! He should not be involved, he's just a guest. He doesn't know!"

"Really, miss Franks? He is just a guest?"  
Completely out of the blue, he hit her again.

And then he shouted "He KNOWS! The bastard knows all, he killed my family, so don't fool me! Never fool me, you bitch."

* * *

_**Please, do review!**_


	9. Chapter 9

Callen never was careless, he kept focused in every case. Why, he thought, why had he not been focused now?  
It must have been those few words, the language, the initials… It must have been a flashback to those few days in Romania. The fact that they had let Dracul Comescu live was only because he seemed to be related to Hunter and he could explain about the personal vendetta of the Comescu family against him.  
And when they finally thought that case in Europe had been closed - when Sam and he had taken care of Hetty - Kensi and Deeks went back to the car repair shed only to find that HE had gone.

And now, dizzy and hurt because of the tasers, he had only himself to blame that he had gotten carried away with only some flashbacks, with such little information.  
If Sam had been with him this would not have happened. Sam was always having his back, keeping him sharp, and the other way around. Sam was the best partner he ever had, and Callen missed his buddy and the rest of the team.  
Not time for regrets though, because what was going on certainly had not stopped.

The fact that it looked as if he was arrested by the sheriff did not make it easier. He was handcuffed, accompanied by two men, sitting in the back of a police car, one of the only cars on this island, and being driven away from the village.  
The same sheriff that had protected Kat earlier that night. Was she working with him?

Callen had always thought he could read people well. During all the years he had worked for different agencies, he had trained this quality that he had developed since his childhood.  
This woman however seemed to have more secrets than he had picked up…

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It must be blood she felt running on her left cheek. He had hit her hard this time and he was obviously extremely angry with MacAllen. How could this happen? How were those two men related and how was it that her handsome guest had used her to get close to Comescu?

In her opinion, both men had betrayed her. Kat felt foolish that she was mesmerized all the time only by the good looks and sweet talks of the man she had let in the house. It was as if she was a schoolgirl again, being idolate about an actor.  
How wrong had she been… He just told her that George MacAllen had killed his family.

"Știu că știi despre afacerea mea. Nu te pot lăsa să pleci. Știi exact cum lucrez [I know you know about my business. I can't let you go. You know exactly how I work]," he said, "Ceea ce ți-a spus despre mine [what did he tell you about me]?"

"Nothing, nothing at all'.

He came closer to her and she expected another hit. Not this time. With a sarcastically smile, his finger touched her face and he showed her the blood on it.  
"Știi ce o vrajba de sânge este [Do you know what a blood feud is]?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Atunci știi. Știu că lucrați împreună. Sunteți amândoi la fel! [Then you know. I know you work together. You're both the same!]."

Kat had troubles thinking clearly. She knew the language and understood what he said but she still could not figure out what was happening exactly.  
What did he mean, working together?

She knew why she had been after Comescu for months now. The only thing the man was interested in was money, lots of money, and he never had any scruples on how to make that money.  
He had girls to work for him as prostitutes everywhere in Europe, forcing them to do so by threatening their family.  
He and sheriff Young did the same in here, with Mexican girls. The money the girls earned was going straight to some bank accounts that could hardly be traced. She had been trying though, and she had sent the intel that came up to the Washington office.

Lately, Comescu had found a way to get to the identities of several federal agents in the USA. She still had not figured out how and whose, but now it was clear that hers was one of them.

She shivered, not only because of the evil mind of this guy. It was cold in the room she was.  
She wished she could just sit down, warm up and leave. Instead, she was still tied up with no way to escape from the situation at all.

"Your partner will soon be here. I want to talk to him first."

She tried to stay ignorant. "So?"

"Eu nu vreau ca el să știe că sunt aici [I don't want him to know you are here]". Kat saw him nodding to one of the other men, who came towards her with a syringe. She struggled against panic, but there was no way to avoid the inevitable prick.  
Only seconds later she drifted into unconsciousness.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

The car stopped near some deserted cabins in what looked like a summer camp. Instead of happy children's voices there were only some birds singing.

The sheriff turned towards him. "We've reached the final destination, mister."

Callen didn't know what to expect. The least he could do is to stay alert and keep up the act and the cover.

"Why did you bring me here? You should use the police station if you want to ask me something"

"You already know about other things that are going on. I was asked to bring you here."

"Asked? Since when does a sheriff follow orders?"

"You'll soon see, mister. Don't worry."

Unwillingly, Callen got out of the car. The Latino who had been on the passenger seat, had pointed a gun towards him. Since Callen had been handcuffed, he knew that a quick escape would be hopeless.  
The only way out was doing what the sheriff asked.

He was pushed into one of the cabins, where two more men awaited them. He was put on a chair.

"Now watch," the sheriff said. There was no escape from that.

Callen felt his blood freeze as he saw Kat, tied up. Then, there was a hand lifting her head. It was clear that she was unconscious and bleeding from a wound above her eye.  
Right then, he heard and saw Dracul Comescu in a room, talking to him.

"Do you remember, G. Callen, what you did in Romania? You and your friends killed my family. Now it's time for payback. Let me start with your girl."

* * *

_**Please, review after reading. **_

Thanks,

Richtsje


	10. Chapter 10

_Glad I could finally find some time for finishing up this chapter... Hope you will like it!_  
_Playing around with some of the characters of NCIS-LA is fun, though we can never owe them._

* * *

Callen tried hard not to show his feelings. And in fact, he wasn't too sure which feeling was the strongest. Shock, rage, despair, fear.

"Don't… Let her go! She… she is not my girl." He even noticed himself that he didn't really control his voice. He breathed in calmer now.  
"Leave her alone," he pleaded, "she's not involved, just let her go".

Instead, he heard the shot and saw the bullet hit her limp body.  
"NO!" Callen cried out.

"Da, Callen. Dar aceasta nu este o rană mortală [but it's not a lethal wound]," his enemy said, and he continued furiously: "And she is not innocent at all. The bitch has been tailing me for months now. Ea știe prea multe! She knows too much!"

"You bastard."

"Am I, mister Callen? I call it an eye for an eye."

Kat still did not move at all, and blood was running from the wound right beneath her left collarbone. What had they done to her that she was completely insensible?

Callen desperately wanted to look away from the screen. In fact, he wanted to wake up from this nightmare.  
There was this ongoing thing in his life, that whenever he decided to let anybody get close to him, when he let people into the spot of trust, love and confidence, he would reveal a weak spot and an easy way for the world to hurt him. This situation proved he was right.  
With Kat, he had felt at ease. He had liked the relaxed way she talked about all kind of things. He had liked to see her smiles that made her grey eyes sparkle, and, last but not least, her well trained body with long, suntanned legs. He could easily have loved her as well, perhaps, after some great nights together on the beach and at that house.  
And right now, he wished he could banish all feelings, just so that he would not feel the sorrow or the feeling of what might have been. There would be only one feeling left.  
Anger.

Callen hardly could think clearly.  
He needed to get away from this room and find a way to help Kat. But for the moment, there were three men in the room, keeping an eye on him.

A door behind him opened and he heard two people entering the room. Strong arms kept him seated on the chair as the sheriff unlocked the handcuffs.

"Need the handcuffs with my uniform, Dracul. I have to go to the ferry now. You know about that team coming to search the island with me to find Katherine Franks."

"Da. You go, Young. Juan will join you on your trip to Avalon. He will wire the place. Easy come, easy go…"

Instead of the handcuffs, one of the crew put Callen's wrists in tie wraps. Then, right in front of him, was Dracul Comescu.

"Well, well, G. Callen. We meet again."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

They gathered at the ops of NCIS LA headquarters, to see if there was any new intel on the Catalina case.  
Deeks had picked up Kensi, who was still sleepy.  
Sam had been waiting for them and smiled as he saw the combination of the ever talkative Deeks and the obviously tired Kensi.

"Eric, anything new since I left you last night?"

"Wait—what? Last night? Kenz, you and Eric did what? How come I wasn't invited?"

"You haven't checked your phone yet, you mean?"

"Guys, there's time enough to make up once we're on the ferry," Sam intervened. "Eric, what can you tell us?"

The blond, bespectacled surfer-tech looked nervous for a moment. "Well… there were more names, files and so on popping up last night, all from the same servers. And there was this video" he said, as he swiveled his chair, hit his keyboard and turned back to the big screen.

"Eric called me last night and we watched together. I was too tired to recognize the language. It could be Serbian. Anything you pick up from it?"  
Neither Sam nor Deeks heard anything familiar.

"Sent some stills to your phones".

"Time to leave now, the ferry from San Pedro should be the one to catch in half an hour", Sam said. "The sheriff will be waiting for us at Avalon. We can watch the pictures with him, he might know the location. Now, rush, kiddo's!"

Sam had enjoyed the bantering between Deeks and Kensi, as he enjoyed it most of the time. It made him want to have his own partner back in the team soon. It felt wrong, working with the three of them. As if part of his eagerness had disappeared while being cut off from Callen.

"Eric, will you brief Hetty once she arrives?" he asked, hurrying downstairs behind the two younger special agents.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Can you imagine how happy I was to see YOU coming here? I had planned to pay your colleagues a visit. Ask them where I could find you. Instead, you were dropped on a plate and served without having asked for," he smirked.

Unable to hide his frustration, he shouted "Stay away from my team, Dracul. It is ME you were after, no-one else".

"No problem G. Callen. There is just a little something first. Now that you're here, I can go on with making money. The nice appetizer in there," as he nodded to the screen, "will be picked up by Daničić. One mil cash. And guess what? Daničić's partner knows you só well. You remember Pranić, don't you? Two and a half. Not too bad, quick money. Just say hi to Pranić".

Astonished that he found out right now who had revealed all about his identity and whereabouts, who had him compromised and endangered his agency, Callen was too angry to keep quiet.  
"How do you know…" He stopped as he saw one of the capturers filmed him. The only thing he could do was looking away.

It made Comescu even more angry and being an easy target right now, Callen got punched several times by him and his partners.

Defenseless as he was right now, his kidneys and ribs were hit more than once.

Gasping for air, he heard "Fata este inteligent. Ea a descoperit mai devreme [the girl is clever. She found out earlier]. But she did not know who Keelson was.  
Money, Dollars, Callen. All that paperwork was in online files as well, of course, and for Keelson too, money was the key to everything. And you helped me and got rid of Keelson, and his paperwork. The rest of it is mine!".

Another punch made him fall to the floor, where the three of them beat him up even more.  
What it was that hit his head, he did not know. What happened after that, he did not know either, as blackness had surrounded him.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"—allen."

It took some time to focus. Breathing hurt and his head felt terrible. Callen knew for sure that another concussion would have him nauseous and with headaches for the next few days.

"MacAllen."  
The voice was there again, more forceful. It was tempting to not open his eyes and just drift away for a longer period. He blinked a few times and finally turned his head to where the sound came from.

"George? How are you?"  
Feverish eyes from a pale face looked at him. "Can you move, MacAllen?"

He nodded.  
"I'm so sorry Kat. This should not have happened."  
Callen swallowed as he noticed the condition she was in. Still standing, or rather hanging, tied to a unit on the wall, it was clear that all energy had washed from her body.  
He did not want to imagine the pain she would have from the nasty and still bleeding bulletwound.

"Can you move, MacAllen? Can you reach my watch please?"

Callen slowly got up, nauseous as he thougth he would be. With his hands still tied up with wraps, it was an awkward action. He felt how warm she was, although her hands were as cold as ice and she shivered continuously. Fever indeed.

"Why, what's with the watch"?

"I will explain," she said. "Maybe you will see."

After some minutes he managed to put her watch off.

"It is a transmitter when you push the PM-button. Will you do so," she asked softly and tired. "There is an agency in Washington who will get the 'distress-code' and he will contact his colleague in Los Angeles. The NCIS might help."

* * *

_**Thanks for reading!**_

Richtsje


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you so much for all the reviews! Hope you will do review in here, after reading, again!_

* * *

When the door had opened, maybe half an hour earlier, Kat had been dimly aware of what happened. The other people had entered the room and dragged in something heavy.  
Her brain worked terribly slow. On with the memory of the needle prick came the immediate burning pain she experienced in her chest.  
It felt as if she had been shot and when she finally had the nerve to open her eyes and look down, she knew she was right. However, she could not remember what happened.

Despite the pain, she forced herself not to make any noises. Without the others to notice she saw MacAllen lying on the floor, scruffy, beaten up and unconscious.  
Seeing he was a victim too, just like she was, guilt bubbled up. She should have protected him from this.

From the room next door she could hear Comescu talking.  
"The Serbians will pick the package up in two hours from now. We will have left Catalina before they arrive. Make sure no evidence is left. Juan will take care of this building too. The Wrigley Road House will blow up first, when team Hanna will enter. Young will lead them into it".

It must be the fever and the drugs that affected her clear thinking. All was mixed up and it was af if she made a mess of all that happened in Avalon. Hanna, that was the detective she spoke with. Why would he be here?  
She should save him. And MacAllen. If only she could escape and if only she was not that weak.

It was when everyone had left the room that she tried to get her tenant responding to her voice.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"NCIS?" he asked, as she told him about the transmitter.  
Kat saw the expression on George MacAllen's face, as if he heard something very weird.

"I will explain later. Listen, you have to help me. Your wrists are tie-wrapped. There is a trick to break them, but it will hurt."

"I know the trick, but how do you know?" Callen questioned.  
It took him some seconds to get his wrists in the right position. He breathed in, bowed, lifted his arms and in a swift way, stood up and lowered his arms in the same pace. He had to repeat it before he defeated the plastic wraps. It hurt indeed, not only his wrists but his head even more.

Callen then quickly untied her.  
She moaned when her body was released from the upright position and she slid down on the floor.  
He kneeled next to her, his concerns growing as he saw how weak she looked right now. He carefully checked her shoulder, as her shirt was soaked with blood.

"I should get you to a hospital. It's not good—"

"Not now. There are more urgent things to do now," she softly stated. "I can't even remember being shot. It can't be that bad."

"Kat, what did you not tell me? Who are you working for?" Callen asked.

"What makes you think—"

"He told me, Kat, Comescu told me!"

"It's not important now. You should go and stop Comescu. He is about to leave Catalina".

"But—"

"Stop that George. I don't know how many men there are in this building or outside. All you need is a gun and a car and if there is none around you have to get a golf cart. All I need is a phone and possibly a gun."

Callen admired her strong will. He knew though that she needed medical care too, but she did not want to show it. Just as she did not want to tell him which agency she worked for.

"Before you go: take a shelf holder. It's a great weapon".

He gave her a sweet smile. "Thank you so much, MacGyver-girl."  
His blue eyes caught her glistening greys, darker now than he remembered. Pain did that, he knew.  
Then, on a whim, he kissed her, gently caressing her cheek at the same time.  
"I will be back, promise."

He hoped it encouraged her enough to stay where she was, just as much as he tried to reassure himself to stay save and come back for her.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Mister Beale!"  
As Eric was concentrating on combining and following strings of IP-addresses, he had not heard Hetty coming in.

"Hetty?"

"Your assistance is acquired Mister Beale. Twenty minutes ago, director Vance received a 'distress code' from an agent who might need our help."

Not yet switched into what the operation manager wanted, Eric asked: "Is it not a Washington-thing?"

"If you were to call it a thing, it is a NCIS-thing. And the NCIS-thing appears to be closer to Los Angeles than to Washington. So, Mister Beale, would you now be so kind as to find out about the exact location of the GPS-thing?"

Being closely watched by the petite woman who organized their office so well, Eric could only do as she asked.  
Entering the code, a map opened on the big screen.

"It is close to Los Angeles—on Catalina!"

"Notify the team Eric, and send them the information. Tell them—"

The techno interrupted his manager "Hetty, it will be easier if I'll put you through to Callen… Ohnoes, to Kensi."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen carefully opened the door. There were only two men left in the room, obviously bored, playing cards while watching the Hawaii Five-0 series on TV. He should be able to overwhelm them and leave the building.  
He decided to step in and go straightforward, knowing they would never expect him walk in just like that.

Self-assured he approached them and asked "Is it alright to leave right now?"  
Before the first man, probably Mexican, understood what had happened, Callen hit him on the head with the shelf holder. Not too hard, there was no need to kill him.  
The second guy got up too slow. It was easy for Callen to just trow the holder towards the arm the man was going to draw his weapon with. It probably broke the guy's upperarm and for Callen it was now an easy job to tie him with the tie wraps that were left on the table.

Now he had two guns, one for him, one for her. And a phone.  
In a haste, he opened the cupboards to see if there was any first aid kit in it. There was none, however, he found a clean dish towel, some Tylenol and duct tape.  
He knew he had to hurry to catch up with Comescu, but Callen also felt the responsibility to help Kat, just as he would have done with one of the other team members.

He went back in the first room. "Here, let me help you."

"No, just go now. Get him before he leaves, please. I can handle this."

She took the phone first and dialed a number she had learned by heart, only on and a half day ago.

He understood arguing would be senseless. Even in the condition she was, she was stubborn and definitely no team player.  
He recognized the solo player she was; all too often he had gone 'lone wolf' on his team.

Just as he turned around, he heard her speak on the phone, words tumbling from her mouth like orders.

"Mister Hanna? This is Kat Franks. Listen: the sheriff is the one to arrest. Do not trust him. And don't go into the Wrigley Road house, get away from it, now!"

Stupified, Callen had turned around.  
"Sam?"


	12. Chapter 12

Now she knew she had been in time to warn the friendly, big detective with his kind, brown eyes, she was even more exhausted. The pain from the bullet wound got worse and she hoped the Tylenol would at least help for the next few hours.

"You called Sám?"

"If you mean Sam Hanna, yes, I did".

Callen felt relieved. His own team was nearby, although, from her words, he knew they had to deal with Young at first.

"George, now just go!"

"Kat, can I take the phone so I can call Sam. I need his help".

Too worn out to ask anything else, she handed him the phone.  
Kat had noticed the change in his behavior, as if he was more confident now.  
Despite the fact he still looked scruffy, one of his eyes blackening and probably bruised everywhere, she thought he was the most handsome man she had seen since a long time.  
She also felt his reluctance to leave.  
Trying to sound as calm as possible and not showing how she really felt, she said: "Don't worry. I won't go anywhere. And I can take care of myself. Get him, MacAllen."

One last look in his ocean blue eyes, and then she was the first one to look away. He left.  
She shivered. She had been shot before, but these fevers were new to her. She really wanted to find a warm place. Light headed and disoriented by blood loss and fever, she closed her eyes. The darkness after that was welcome.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

The sheriff had waited for them at the ferry terminal. At the police station, he had briefed them about the fact that Katherine Franks had gone missing and they had told him about how they had found Nathan Huntington.

Kensi showed the pictures of Kat Franks, tied up in the room. "This popped up at our office. Do you recognize anything?"

Carefully observing the pictures, Young answered "No, not really. It looks like one of the buildings on the pier, but it can't be, they are all occupied. Perhaps we'll find proof at her house?"

It was only a short walk from the Avalon police station to Wrigley Road. When they nearly were there, Kensi's phone rang.

"Yeah, Eric?—Hetty? Uhhuh—now, immediately?—Yes, do send it. We'll find it, of course—No, we were about to—" …

Another phone rang.  
Although Sam did not recognize the number in his display, he answered it. The only thing he did was listening.  
And then he commanded: "Deeks, Kensi, don't go closer! Deeks, gun", and, as he pulled his own gun: "Young, step back, on your knees. You are—"  
Before he could finish his sentence, a bullet hit the head of the sheriff and another one pierced his neck.

The three of them ducked away, but there were no more shots. Somebody had definitely wanted to get rid of this man and had succeeded.

Around them, people were in shock of the shooting and in no time, two deputies of the Catalina police arrived. After a very short briefing, they left the deputies in charge, without mentioning the attempt to arrest the sheriff, they walked away.

"How did you know, who were you talking to Sam?" Deeks wanted to know.

"Would you believe it if I said it was Kat Franks." He actually liked it. The girl was sharp, a loner, and she had guts. How she knew, he did not know, but in one way or another, she knew that he was around.  
He smiled to his team mates. "She should be around somewhere and we'll find her."

"Oh. It reminds me of my phone call. It was Hetty and she—"

Again, what she wanted to say, was interrupted by the buzzing of Sam's phone. Looking at the display, he saw it was the same caller. "Katherine, that was close!—Callen?!"

"Sam, lot of things to explain. Listen, Comescu is behind all this. He is about to leave Catalina, but we don't know from which terminal. Can you call Eric and Nell for help? Also, the house on Wrigley Road is wired. You'll need a bomb squad. And—"

There were days Sam had to drag the words out of his partner. At this moment, he never expected his partner to phone in, let alone hearing so many unforeseen developments from Callen.  
"Whohooh… Wait a second Callen" he said.

"Kensi, call Eric and Nell, have them watch the terminals for Dracul Comescu!"

He read the same unbelief he experienced in the eyes of his team mates. Kensi quickly recovered from the news and did what she had to do, keep calm, call in.

"Deeks: we'll need a bomb squad for Wrigley Road. Can you call LAPD to arrange it and get extra hands for the deputies in here?"

"Callen, continue."

"NCIS Washington must have received a 'distress' message. Will need medics at that location."

"Callen?"

"Not for me buddy. It's Kat. She has been shot. She says she's okay, but I'm not sure, she's stubborn as hell."

Despite all, Sam smiled.  
"She reminds me of you G. Love to hear how the two of you met. But for now, where are you?"

"On my way to Avalon".

* * *

_Right... Just a short chapter, I know. Hope you don't mind? _

**_Love your reviews, so keep them coming ;-)_**

_Richtsje_


	13. Chapter 13

And why, for heaven's sake, did those golf charts not have more power. Callen needed to get to Avalon soon, faster than this thing went.

All the extra eyes, from his team and the ops cams as well, were so welcome. He really needed to stop Dracul Comescu today.  
If he was going to follow his gut feel, there would be no Comescu left after today. Still, he knew he should play by the rules. Having the guy arrested and put away forever would be a great revenge as well.

Callen still was upset about the fact that Comescu simply shot Kat. In this job, being killed by a bullet would be the most likely way to die, however, being shot just as a cruel way to hurt another person, was disgusting.

Kat must have known she was at risk. Still, she had surprised Callen with her natural behavior towards him. Being an expert himself, he knew she did a wonderful job on her undercover status. On the other hand, he probably did that himself, as she did not find out about his real reason to be in Avalon.

Every now and then, he had sensed some mystery, but still, he admired her work. If only the both of them had known before, they could have worked together.  
If he had been able to help her earlier, if he had known Comescu was right here and behind the trafficking of agents' files and lifes, she would be right beside him right now.  
And now, he felt guilty he left her alone.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Since none of them were too familiar with the way all was organized on the island, Callen immediately stepped back into his role as team leader again.

After he had explained to them that it was Kat who sent the 'distress code' and where she was right now, it was time for quick actions.

"Deeks, Kensi, you two go back to the ferry terminal in Avalon. Keep in touch with Eric, he'll inform us and we'll inform you."

"How about you, where will you go?" Kensi wanted to know.  
The relief of seeing Callen again nearly faded away after hearing the name Comescu. They all remembered those few days in Romania when Hetty had wanted to stop the Comescu-family hunting Callen's.  
If it hadn't been for Hunter, Dracul Comescu would not have been here and the team would have been in other cases by now.

"I just passed a motor rental. We'll take two motorcycles and head up to the northern ferry terminal."

While the younger team members went to the terminals and he and Sam waited for their motorcycles, Sam watched his partner carefully.  
"G, you're alright?"  
He recognized the furious look in his partner's eyes.

"The bastard shot her and had me watch it. He called it revenge for Romania".

"She found out so many things about him. Reports came in this morning, Nell did a great job analyzing all the information. Katherine must have known she was at risk, but her cover was good. It must have been information they got from Huntington that put them on her tail."

"Were her reports good enough to nail Dracul?" Callen asked.

"Better, G." Sam smiled. "Now we have to find him!"

Sam used his earphones once they headed up the road to the northern harbors. They had just left Avalon when he heard Eric calling in, yelling in his ear.  
"Sam, we found him. On a private yacht, Avalon harbor!"

"Call in Kensi and Deeks too. And Eric, any news on LAPD assistance?"

"Should be there any minute Sam".

"Tell Kensi and Deeks to wait for us", Callen shouted to his partner.

Meeting their team members back in Avalon, they quickly discussed what to do. From ops, Eric sent pictures of the yacht. It was clear that Comescu was there, with at least one crew member.

"Sam, you and Deeks take that small boat. You're two mates going on a fishing trip. Block the yacht, enter from the water. Kensi, catch!" Callen threw a sun hat at her, grabbed a pair of sunglasses, and dropped some dollars in the hands of the shopgirl.

His female team mate smiled at him. "The love couple-show again?"

Callen nodded. He knew Kensi was good at it. Giggling and jolly, hugging him and meanwhile taking care to stay between Callen and the left row of boats and yachts, keeping him out of sight, they approached their target.

"Callen, what's our next step?" Kensi whispered. "Where do we go from here?"

He smiled at her, encouraging her for what was to come. "How about right girl, wrong yacht?"

Before she could answer, Callen kissed her and pushed her to the yacht. They heard Dracul Comescu talking, but it was not clear if it was to a crew member or if it was a phonecall.  
Half hidden under the large sun hat that Kensi was wearing, they 'accidently' ended up on the deck.  
A latin looking guy showed up.

"Hey, you two. Where do you think you are going?"

"Not where you are going honey", Kensi smiled and then quickly had her gun pointed at him. "Now, hush" and after a small nod, Callen came from behind and knocked him out using the choking method.

They saw their team members on the small boat, blocking a quick departure. Sam signed at them, holding up two fingers, meaning that there would be another man with Comescu on board.

Entering the yacht, their guns at the ready, Callen looked at Kensi, counting down and then, they stunned the two men.

"Federal agents! On your knees, hands on your head!" Callen shouted.  
Without being bothered by the formal announcement, the second man turned around and was ready to shoot them. Not hesitating, Kensi shot him, eliminating the threat.

Slowly turning around, Callen saw the smug smile on his enemy's face.  
"Well, we meet again G. Callen. I see you found another girl. Did you leave poor little Katherine alone?"

Kensi noticed Callen clenching his jaws, his body tense, definitely a sign he was angry, and probably beyond that, hurt.

"Nothing to say Callen?" Dracul provoked.

In a flash, Callen grabbed the man's shirt and put him against the wall, gun against Comescu's throat.  
"I might stop you in here, Dracul. Finish what was started."

"Callen, step back", Kensi said. "You know better than this".

For a moment, he hesitated. Then, Sam and Deeks came in as well, and he knew he had to play it by the rules.  
He breathed in deep, and put his gun away.

"Oh, Callen. Listen, do you hear that helicopter? Remember Pranić? Ah, I invited him to pick you and her up, after the money was transferred to my bank account. Such a shame he'll only find your sweet girlfriend, don't you think?"

* * *

**Love to hear your comments, please do review!**

Thanks in advance.


	14. Chapter 14

_Just a tiny chapter to tease you a little, because the last chapter is to arrive soon after this one..._

* * *

Most of the time, Callen could hide his emotions pretty well. His teammates were taken by surprise he was shocked by the last sentence of Dracul Comescu.

Comescu definitely liked it, seeing Callen looking defeated as he was.  
"She knew, Callen, that they would come. She didn't tell you, did she?"

He turned around, biting his underlip. Why hadn't she mentioned it? 'Why, Kat, why…'

"Callen?" He heard Kensi, but had not listened to what she asked. "Callen, we know the location where Katherine is. How soon do you think can we reach her?"

He was back in the game again.  
"Take him with you, watch him carefully. I'll take the motorbike again, you can confiscate a cab and follow me".

Callen tried to deny what he heard in Romanian. "Tu va fi prea târziu, ea va fi plecat, Callen [You will be too late, she will be gone, Callen].  
He knew his team would not understand these sentence. How come Comescu was so damn confident?

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It was the radiating pain on the left part of her body that made her partly conscious of what was going on.  
Waves of heat, alternated with cold shivers. She felt cold sweat on her forehead.  
She felt it and she did not want to be awake. With every heartbeat the pain grew stronger. Kat wanted to lie down again and curl up, crawl back to the grey and the black, to a place she would not feel the pain anymore.

But there were voices and she heard somebody come closer to her. Kat felt strong arms trying to lift her.  
"George?"  
He had promised to come back for her after she sent him away to stop Comescu.

Instead of his voice, it was somebody elses.  
"Георгe није ту. Где је Цаллен?" [George is not around. Where is Callen?]

She heard him and it took a while before her brain started to work better. Serbian.  
"I don't know Callen."  
The very moment she mentioned the name, she knew George MacAllen never existed. It was Callen, nearly the same. She had read his name once, in a report: Callen had killed Keelson. She remembered. Not that it was important. Not now.  
Callen was not here, she was on her own and in no condition to get away from this man.

"You do know him. You were here together. Dracul showed it," the man said.

"Still, I don't know Callen," Kat repeated. She closed her eyes, tiredly. Deep down she regretted the fact she had not met Callen before or in another situation.

The large man cursed in Serbian, that much she heard.  
"Платио сам за њега! И Даничић платио за вас. Треба обоје" [I paid for him! And Daničić paid for you. I need the both of you.]

When he angrily pulled her up, she cried out in pain.

Before she had a chance to do something, there was an enormous blast, knocking her to the floor. Something heavy fell on her and just before she passed out, her head seemed to explode.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

He speeded ahead, getting back on the small and rocky road to the camp in the hills. The remarks Comescu made agitated him and deep down he knew something was completely wrong.

Callen knew his team would follow and they would keep a close watch on Comescu, all knowing how sly he could be.  
Deeks had called Eric again, asking for the medical assistance from the mainland. They were supposed to arrive in half an hour by helicopter, and Eric had directed them straight to the encampment as well.

Callen wanted to be the first to arrive, able to get rid of Pranić if necessary.

Alone with his thoughts, there was the sound he knew too well; the cracking noise, followed by the sound of all kind of materials falling down.  
Dreaded by what might have happened, the motorbike nearly slipped as he hurried to the cabin where he had left Kat.

Approaching the camp, he saw the helicopter on the parking lot. Behind it, he noticed that what he was afraid for to find, came true: the third cabin had been blown up, only some remnants were left.

Callen stopped for just a second, closed his eyes to prepare himself. Then, he breathed in deep, clenched his jaw, and stepped towards the rubble.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Perhaps I should have told Juan is still around?"

The incidental remark of Comescu, who was sitting in the backseat next to Deeks, alarmed Sam. Would his partner expose himself to any danger? He tried to speed up on the small and winding road.

Kensi noticed the worry on his face. "Sam? Callen knows who is there, doesn't he?"

"Sure, he knows. But you and I don't and I don't like it at all".

The snigger from behind him made him wonder IF Callen was prepared for what might happen.

When he thought they were almost there, taking the next bend, he knew his gut feel was so right.  
From this distance, he could see Callen walking towards a cabin that had only just exploded, clearly not aware from any danger left.  
From behind the helicopter that was parked, there was a quick blink and Sam knew immediately there was somebody aiming a gun at his partner.

In a reflex, Sam horned, hoping to alarm Callen.

The reaction was far too slow. Callen's attention was drawn towards the car. The whistling sound they could hear belonged to the bullet that hit their teamleader.

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**_Thanks for reading&reviewing,_**

**_Richtsje_**


	15. Chapter 15

They saw him going down.

Sam nearly jumped out of the car before he had even stopped it and ran as fast as he could to his partner, knowing that Kensi would have his back.

"G!"  
To his surprise, he saw Callen with his gun at the ready, aiming in the direction from where he was shot.

"I'm fine Sam, it's just a graze."

Knowing that 'just a graze' would always be something to take care of when it came to his partner, Sam felt really grateful that this was just it. He remembered that day when he was too late to warn his partner, who then got shot five times and nearly got killed.

"Did you see who it was?"

"No. Your damn horn distracted me".

"Now don't you blame me. I probably scared the shooter, and saved your ass, G". Seeing his partner's expression, Sam knew Callen was beyond worried of what took place. "Let's go than. I'll cover you".

Callen slowly got up. It was then when Sam noticed that the bullet had hit Callen right above his right hip, probably a graze indeed but one that left quite a blood trail on his blue jeans. "Are you sure you'll be alright G?"

A groan was the only answer to that question. With some dubiety, Callen walked towards what remained of the cabin.

"Do you think it is safe to go in, G?"

"Won't know if I won't try." Leaving his worries unspoken, Sam sensed that his partner was afraid of the inevitable.

In the main room Callen found the two guys he had left there, both dead. They had not had a single chance to escape, since he himself had tied them to the chairs. There was a third person in the room, somebody he did not recognize. A quick check showed the man was killed as well.

From a distance, he heard the rotors of another helicopter that came closer. "Sam, what's this helicopter doing?"

"Medics. They're late. Eric sent them after your first call, remember?" Looking at the mess, Sam had his worries if any medical assistance was necessary.

Hesitating before he went in further, Callen looked once more behind, knowing Sam would be there, no matter what.  
It was only some steps from where he stood, when he saw Pranić, whose back of the head seemed to have wiped away by an iron bar that must have kept the doorpost in place.  
Partly covered by the dead body of Pranić, Callen saw who he had been looking for. Swallowing away the choking feeling, he counted to ten before he had the guts to come closer. He kneeled down, trying to ignore all the blood that covered them both, and felt if there was a pulse at all.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Kens, can you see what's going on?" The medical helicopter had landed as well and blocked Deeks' view on the remnants of the cabin where the senior agents went to.

"Nope. But it seems these medics don't know what to do either". She looked at her partner. "You think I should have a look?"

Deeks felt confident enough. He had his gun at the ready, having a handcuffed Comescu next to him, the car doors closed by the child lock. "Sure, go ahead".

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

She was alive, but in what condition Callen really did not know.  
_'I'm here, Kat. Promised you to come back'_. He was not sure if he spoke those words or just thought them.

"Sam!?" His voice was unstable, representing his feelings.

Without words, his partner came in, noticing the forlorn position of the woman. Carefully, he pulled away the deceased Serbian, exposing the motionless body of Kat. He held his breath as he saw the massive head wound, the nasty bullet wound and the blood-stained shirt she was still wearing.

"Dzjeez. Oh my, G. We need help in here."

Callen looked up at him and Sam felt uneasy seeing his tears. "I shouldn't have left her here, Sam. This would not have happened if I stayed or if I had taken her with me".

"Don't do that, G. Stop blaming yourself. You could not prevent this and you know it. Come on, let's get the paramedics in here".  
Sam wanted his partner to get out of this mess, knowing he needed medical care too.

Stubbornly Callen said: "I'll wait in here."  
He wanted to stay close to Kat, knowing it did not make any difference at all. He sat against what was left of the walls, rubbing his eyes. He was nauseous from the rage he felt because of what happened, combined with blood loss and the worries.  
Callen just sat there, feeling the urge to talk to her. He softly spoke "You did great, Kat. No more Serbians to come and get you. And Comescu will be put away in jail. We caught him. Oh Kat, you should be relaxing right now…".

"Sir?" One of the paramedics had come in. "Sir, we need some space to work. You should wait outside".

"I'll wait in here" he answered, again.

"G, you let them do their job." Sam had come in with the medics. "Don't get stubborn right now, they have to get her to the mainland as soon as possible", he persuaded. "Kensi just called Hetty. Your favorite medical team will take care of Katherine, G".

Callen gave him a wry smile. "Well, then at least security measures will be okay". He moaned when he got up.

"Doctor Lee should see you too. You'll need at least some stitches, partner".

Callen knew Sam was right. He sighed deeply. And maybe he did not need to see or hear what the medical team did with her.  
_'She's not my girl_', he had told Comescu. He now realized he wished she WAS his girl.

Looking back once more, he followed his partner out of the destructed building. Tired of all that happened, he leaned against the wall. Kensi was talking and gesturing to Sam.  
Then, there was the moment when his head got clearer and Callen thought Kensi should be with Deeks. It was at the same moment he heard the whopping sound of a leaving helicopter.

"Kensi, Sam!" Callen had already took his gun and ran as fast as he could to where the first helicopter had been parked.

His team mates were faster. He heard Kensi cry out: "Deeks!" as she saw the car they had been driving. The back doors were opened and their liaised partner lay still on the pavement.  
"Can't be—" Sam scolded, knowing that the inevitable happened.

Callen aimed his gun at the helicopter.  
"He is not getting away like this. Not him, no way," he furiously yelled.

Then, there was a calmer Sam, putting his hand on his partner's gun and pushing it down. "Don't, G. Don't do that. What if it crashes down yhere in Avalon, think of what might happen. It's not worth it".

Devastated by the fact that Dracul Comescu had escaped, Callen turned around. Deeks seemed to be okay, getting up groggy with Kensi next to him.

"Call Eric, see if he can find out about the flight schedule of this helicopter", he asked Sam. "And Eric or Nell should be able to trace the IP-addresses from where the intel was sent from too, now we know that Comescu sent them. Can they stop the messages?"

He sighed again. "Sam, how could this happen?"

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**_Oh dear. Thought I might finish this story right now, but once writing I realized there was too much to put in just this chapter... So, there will be more. Please let me know if you liked it, your reviews are welcome!_**


	16. Chapter 16

_Thanks for your support so far!_

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"You know what worried us G? Dracul mentioned you might not know 'Juan' would be around. Juan must have been the one that shot at you and the one that helped Comescu escape."

"Do you realize that Kat's work has been in vane now, Sam?"

"Not true. She reported, she concluded, she found out so many things. I told you earlier, with her information there is a long list of human traffickers to be arrested and at least ten other cases will be closed" Sam said.

From the furious look on his partner's face, he saw discussing this issue with Callen, right now, was simply useless.  
Callen obviously only thought of the fact that Comescu, the only member of the Romani family that was left, escaped once more.** His** case would not been closed and Sam knew his partner all too well, this frustrated him enormously.

"He could be anywhere now, unless Eric can find him and—" Callen stopped talking as he saw one of paramedics run to the helicopter. His face grew pale.  
"She will make it, won't she?" he asked the man.

"Sir, we do need to get back to Los Angeles as soon as possible for a proper treatment. We have her stable enough."  
His fellow-helpers came out, carrying the guerney with a very still and intense pale Kat, and slid the guerney in the helicopter. An IV was running and bandages covered her head, although blood seeped through it already.

Callen just stood there, feeling helpless, wordless and dizzy.  
Sam could not remember Callen seeing worried this much about a woman before. He was curious what happened between his partner and Katherine Franks during those few days in Avalon.

"There's room for one more passenger. You should fly back with her G", Sam said softly.  
Not only Sam wanted his partner going into the hospital, he also wanted to keep him away from Deeks and Kensi, knowing Callen would be too harsh on them about having Dracul Comescu escape, again.

"We'll be there tonight G. Now go."

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

As ever, Hetty had taken care of a secured area in the hospital. She had been waiting for Callen to come in, wanting to hear from him what had happened.  
Sam had called her to tell Callen would be there with the helicopter and that he would need stitching. Again.

"Stitching only. No sedation."

Hetty softly chuckled. The boy would never change, arguing with the medical staff already before they even had a chance to take a look at his wounds. She entered the ER after a knock on the door.  
The man she had carefully recruited just to keep a close watch over him sat there, shirtless, and Hetty held her breath as she noticed the many bruises, the fresh wound and the scars of past escapes from bullets and knifes.

"Mister Callen. It's good to have you back in here."

He looked up and Hetty noticed the hunted look in his eyes.

Without hesitation he asked her bluntly "Have you found out where he went"?

"No, Mister Callen" she sighed and she continued in a softer voice. "No, we haven't. Eric could keep track on the helicopter and we had a special SWAT team ready to arrest Comescu. But once the helicopter landed, there was no trace of him. The pilot, Juan Ruiz, was arrested but committed suicide immediately after".

"Damn!"

Cursing was something he rarely did and if so, never when Hetty was around. She now understood that what happened this last week really got under his skin.  
She decided to ignore it, simply because she had wanted to end the vendetta that the Comescu-family had against Callen herself. If he and his well-trained team had not come for her rescue, Hetty would not be around anymore.

"Hush now Mister Callen. Early this morning Miss Jones finally managed to trace the sending IP-address once your girl—"

"Not my girl Hetty" he grumbled.  
She looked away, surprised by his reaction. Obviously, he was saying this to himself, just to get detached from a feeling he might not recognize. There were so many things she knew of this man, facts of his past, things she still was afraid of telling him. But indeed, she hardly knew anything of his private life, let alone of his love life.  
Unlike her other agents, G Callen was no open book if it came to his feelings.

Hetty cleared her throat. "Anyway, Miss Jones could trace them all the way back to the source out with the help of Miss Franks' last reports. We could successfully end the streaming of all the classified information on public servers. Your identity is safe again. So is hers."

She continued "I will wait outside now, Mr Callen. Perhaps Doctor Lee will be around to tell me more about Miss Franks' condition. Join me when you're finished in here."

In fact, Hetty was curious about the woman herself. Her reports were thorough, her reputation flawless and she had noticed even Sam was impressed by her.

Pacing the long, green corridors of the hospital, the Operation Manager concentrated on the present and tried to ignore the past times she had waited in here. Times when she was so unsure if one of her agents was going to make it or not.  
This time it was for an agent of another agency, somebody she did not even know herself.  
Hetty had asked Nell to contact the HR department of ICE to inform them Katherine Franks was hospitalized and to ask them to send in any relatives to Los Angeles.

Now all she could do was to wait for the doctor that was assigned to this secluded part of the hospital. Not many people knew of it, there was a small staff always available for VIP's and other people that needed or wanted to stay out of sight.

Her small feet were stepping further, when a door behind her swayed open and G Callen came out. From this distance, the always self-assured agent, known from the many undercover operations and whose identity was like a legend except for his closest team members, looked like a shy schoolboy, wearing a hospital gown and his jeans.

"Oh boy, Mr Callen, you could use some decent clothing."

"Any news on Kat, Hetty" was the only thing he said.

"I'm afraid not. She has been with the medical team for two hours now and she's in good hands as you know. Now, if you would wait in here. I will be back with clean clothes for you and some warm drinks for the both of us, and" - as she observed her team leader - "maybe you need something sweet as well".

Not for certain if Hetty was serious about this last words, Callen sat down and just waited.

* * *

_**Well, we can only wait with Callen ...  
**_  
Please, review after reading! Thank you,

Richtsje


	17. Chapter 17

_**Really, only some chapter after this one, before the story comes to an end. But until then, please enjoy reading and please, do review!**_

* * *

How she did it, he never knew.  
It seemed only like minutes when the tiny lady whom he was so fond of, came back with a bag filled with toiletries, clean clothes and shoes. But first, deadpanned face, she handed him a doughnut, his favorite, with colored sprinkles. From the same bag she took a jug and two cups.

"Tea, Mr Callen. Pukka Bahjan. It will help you to relax a bit".

"What makes you think I need to relax?"

She just handed him a cup, without explanation. Quietly, he took some sips. Then he looked at her.  
"Perhaps you're right. I should not blame Deeks, or Kensi. He would have gotten away anyhow, I guess. It's just that—"

"Oh, I know. I know, dear boy. Maybe I could and should have prevented all this."  
She sighed and Callen noted her sad and distant gaze.

"Hetty, what are you talking about. No way you could have known Comescu was behind this all."

"Not this time Mr Callen. But I should have ended this blood feud all those years ago, if only I had stood up against orders."

"You are the one who told me to never let guilt be your guide."  
The moment he expressed himself, he realized he nearly had done that, feeling guilty about what had happened in Avalon.

"They forced me to watch when he shot her. I felt sick. I still do" he nearly whispered. "And she was so stubborn, saying she'd be fine. What she did was in a way protect me and let me get Comescu."

"The girl is definitely a loner. According from what I heard from her handler is that she is used to work alone. She can be whoever she wants to be and thus is able to hide in plain sight. It's a gift, Mr Callen, as you well know," his manager said, looking straight into his blue eyes. He expected one of her smaller lectures, but she kept quiet afterwards.

Callen had eaten the sweet treat Hetty had brought him. "Thank you, Hetty. Well, I'd better get properly dressed now before doctor Lee sees me. And—erhm, I'm sorry I ruined your clothes. Again".  
He took the bag Hetty had taken and went to find one of the restrooms. He did not notice how Hetty smiled, understanding that her lead agent was definitely charmed by this young woman. Else, he would have protested being in a hospital for as long as they were here already.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Miss Lange"?

Although he was still dressed in the surgery clothing Hetty recognized the doctor that had operated members of NCIS teams before.  
Looking around and seeing nobody else, he asked her "Is it one of your children again, that I operated on?"

"Not one of my teams this time, doctor Lee. But I do need to know… how is she?"

"Doc, wait. I need to hear it too". Callen hurried to the two people, quickly buttoning up his shirt.

Looking at the black eye and kind of stiff movement from man whose life he had saved once, he understood that it had been a narrow escape again. "Callen. Good to see you around on two feet this time" he said.  
Then, seriously looking "Miss Franks should be fine, after the next few days. She lost a lot of blood and the bullet wound has been infected. I had to cut deep to get the bullet out and the infected tissue away.  
Second problem is a collapsed lung, something that occurs quite often during explosions. We'll let it heal slowly and there should be no side effects from that. What bothers me most is the head trauma. There has been some serious swelling in the brain. We put in a drain and hope it will do what it has to do".

"She will be alright then?" Callen eagerly asked.

"She should be, but it will take time to heal."

"When can I—can we see her?" He bit his underlip and looked away.

"After she leaves the recovery room. It will take at least another hour".

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It was the soft side of her lead agent she could not remember she had seen before.

Hetty had a phonecall with director Vance when a nurse had asked her and Callen to enter the room where Kat had been brought to. The always so sturdy agent who detested hospitals more than anybody she knew, had taken a chair and seemed to ignore the tubes, IV's, drain and bandages for once, keeping his focus on Kat as Hetty caught him carefully caressing the woman's arm.

"Mr Callen?"  
He looked up.

"Would you be surprised if director Vance would show up in here with the grandmother of Miss Franks?"  
She smiled. "You know, I am as well. The lady lives in Winchester and doesn't want to fly alone. And since the director was about to come to Los Angeles, he will accompany her."

"How about parents, brothers, sisters?"  
Kat had never talked about relatives with Callen, and he never asked.

Hetty shook her head, looking a bit sadder now.  
"None, Mr Callen. From what was reported, she is an orphan since she was one. Her parents and older sister got killed. 'Collateral damage' during a robbery in a supermarket. Ever since she was young, Miss Franks went to boarding schools and lived with her grandmother during holidays until she went to college in Boston".

"So… she is used to be alone. To rely on herself." He smiled wryly as he saw Hetty nodding. "Now, don't go there Hetty" he said, tired of the last days.

"Maybe you should go home, Mr Callen, and catch some sleep. You seem to need it".

"I'll wait in here Hetty. No problem".

"I see. Well, stay than until the grandmother arrives. After that, you should be debriefing with director Vance and me. You are aware that the director is the one to give the green light for you to be active in the field again?"

In fact, it was one of the last things he cared about at this very moment. "I will see you later, Hetty".

She silently closed the door, leaving.

Callen was tired and needed some sleep indeed. He wished there was a possibility to just turn back the clock, or turn it forward if necessary.  
Instead, he had to deal with the present.  
Leaning back in his chair, he experienced for the first time that the continuous beeping of the monitors worked relaxing and he soon nodded off.

A sudden strike in the face woke him up in a cruel way.

* * *

Thank you for reading!

Richtsje


	18. Chapter 18

It was a very angry voice he heard immediately after the sudden and harsh wake-up call.

"Driving like that and hurting my girl. Look at her right now!"  
In front of him stood an older lady, looking really mad at him.

"I'm ehrm… Well, I am sorry", Callen mumbled, not really knowing what else to say.

Near the entrance door to the room, he saw director Vance. To his surprise, he started to explain. "When they came back after they guided the tourists, it was another car that hit them. Katherine's colleague actually drove very careful. It happens quite often, the tunnel in Griffith Park is not the easiest one for strangers. Highway Patrol already explained that mister MacAllen did not speed."

He swallowed. "That's right. It was not my fault and I wished it all never happened. I'm so sorry, I really am".  
He got up. "Take your time ma'am. I'm sure Kat likes to have you around," he said. "And boss? Can I have a word with you?"

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Thank you for interrupting. The woman scared the hell out of me".

"That's obvious. I had to play along though. She told me Katherine works as a tourist guide, mostly in Europe. Some weeks ago, she came to visit her grandmother telling her that she had found a job in Los Angeles. I had to improvise a bit, but I think she bought it."  
Vance looked at the team leader who definitely went through some bad days. "So, how are you Callen?"

"How do you think I feel" he blurted. "Do you know WHO did this to her?" He rubbed his temple, suddenly feeling so angry again.

"I understand Callen and I do remember the Romanian days. You know what? We'll have the debriefing later. Now go, have a shower and find a decent bed. You look like crap". From his jacket, Vance took out a set of keys. "Keys of the black jaguar, parking area G, 3rd floor. Address of safe house is on the label. I will deal with grumpy grandma myself, have to bring her back to her hotel anyway" he smiled.

"But—"

"No but's, agent Callen. Hetty arranged it. 'One can never be too cautious' as she puts it. And for now, I agree".

Silently he took the keys and walked away.

Half an hour later, Callen drove the rather quiet Santa Monica freeway, humming with 'the Way' of Springsteen and his favorite of Dashboard Confessional. He finally arrived at Dudley Avenue. Not exactly in the neighborhood he would choose himself, but close to the ocean.  
After parking the car, he had a quick look around before he entered the apartment building.  
It was clear Hetty had arranged it. There was fresh beer, milk, cheese and some fresh apples in the fridge, coffee and toasts in the kitchen's cupboard. She probably knew exactly what he preferred both at night after stressful days and in the morning after he woke up. In the shower room he found Tylenol and some toiletries. And in the bedroom, there were Russian and Spanish magazines and a good bed, and more clean clothes.  
For the very first time, he admitted to himself that there was something missing. Or rather, someone.  
He would have loved to have Kat around.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It took another five days before the doctors decided to pull out the thorax tube and replace it with a smaller cannula. Also, the sedation to keep Kat in a deep sleep, was reduced. The swelling had reduced as well, within days the last drain would be taken out.  
On the sixth day, at a quarter to five in the morning, Callen had his first cup of coffee next to Kat's bed, when he noticed her eyes were open.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty".  
Her gaze kept unfocused and she breathed far too fast. He thought he definitely saw fear in her eyes.  
He softly touched her cheek, afraid to hurt her. "Kat, you're safe now."

Since there was no reaction at all from her, Callen decided to pressed the call button.  
Soon, there was a nurse coming in. "Sir? You should not be here. Visiting hours are far from now!" He noticed she was upset, after all, it was the secluded area of this hospital.

He just smirked. He was going to be where he wanted to be, whenever he wanted to.  
"I called since I think you should check on Katherine. She seems awake but is not reacting".

The nurse quickly came into action. After some obviously regular checks, she said "It is a natural reaction, the medications are leaving her body but she still is far from really awake and aware. You should not be too disturbed, Sir."

Actually, Callen did feel concerned. However, he could not figure out why.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Ma! You should not ask such a thing!" Kat cried out, wincing immediately after.  
It was an impertinent question of her grandmother which surprised Kat. She felt like she blushed enormously. As if she would answer the question, as if she was going to tell her grandmother if she had slept with George.

Kensi walked in the already open door to pick up mrs Franks. She overheard the question and noticed the way the other young woman reacted.

Kensi smiled. There definitely must have been something going on between this woman and her team leader.  
Of course, Callen would never tell. He wasn't the kind of person who would open up easily. In the past, Kensi had had a crush on him too. The man was good looking although he hardly seemed aware of that. However, as a co-worker, relationships were not allowed and Callen always said he had this rule to 'never date law enforcement'.  
Kensi smirked. G. Callen obviously had changed his rule. Good for him. From what she had seen and heard Katherine Franks might just be the right match for the man she thought who might be the most stubborn, gorgeous and perhaps loneliest person Kensi knew. Katherine was just as stubborn and independent as Callen.

"Mrs. Franks? I'm here to drive you back to your hotel," she said. He older woman nodded.  
"I'll be there. Now, Katherine, I'll be flying back with your boss tomorrow. Promise me to come and visit me as soon as you leave the hospital, dear girl." The older woman hugged her granddaughter sincerely.

"Sure Ma, will be there as soon as I can," Kat answered.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"Definitely an orange one. You still taste like it."

"Nope. A red tootsie pop. Taste again," Callen said, as he kissed her once more. It was good to see the sparkle back in her eyes, definitely a sign she was healing quickly and would soon be leaving the hospital.

"Kat, what are you going to do once you're released from here?" Callen asked.

There was a distant gaze from her. "I'm not sure, yet. I'm scheduled for some new scans, tomorrow morning, to see if erhm… if the headaches leave. First things first," she said.

He noticed she avoided to look him straight into the eyes.  
"Kat, are you still mad?"

"No, I'm not". She bit her underlip, not exactly knowing what to say. She was glad Sam came in.

"G, couldn't you wait until I parked the car?" he said, in a good mood like almost ever. "Katherine, the boy just speeded up the stairs after leaving me in the parking lot".

"What color of sucker did he just have Sam?"

"Orange."

"You see, told you so", Kat chuckled.

"You know why I said it was red. Don't you?"

"Now look at you G. If there was something red, it's you blushing!"

"I don't blush. Never do. Do I, Kat?"

"If you say so George."  
One of the things she hadn't changed was calling him George. Simply because he had gotten used to it, he never corrected her.

"So… We were going to ask if you like a pizza too. G's idea to celebrate closing a case. If so, I'll get you one, we can eat it in here."

"Really? I mean, really, it sounds delicious! All must be better than eating this hospital food. Do you think it's allowed?"

"I will be on the first look-out Katherine. Don't worry! Be right back."

After Sam left, Kat got curious. "Tell me about this case, George? How many cases do you work on each month?"

"How many pizza's do I eat, you mean?" he laughed. "Sometimes it takes weeks to solve a case, sometimes hardly a day. But I never eat the same food day after day. Unless it's tootsie-pops."

Kat liked the way Callen teased her, it all went so relaxed. In Avalon, which seemed ages ago right now, they both were quite tensed.  
"With all those pizza's, you need to work out a lot to keep in shape."

"Sure. I know a great physiotherapist who could help me with that." Now it was her time to blush.  
To him, it was strange, being so at ease with Kat. Callen always enjoyed the bantering he and Sam had and right now, with her, that part felt familiar. Actually, he wanted to get the girl out of this hospital as soon as possible and take her home with him or somewhere else they could be together for weeks and weeks.

Kat sighed.  
"After tomorrow, I want to get away from here as soon as possible George", she said softly. "I hope—well, this next check should help me to ehm, to focus more on what I should do once doctor Lee gives me green light. Maybe I should hang around a bit longer."  
Again, Callen was surprised she seemed to be able to read his mind.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

She sat upright, her long legs dangling down the bed and enjoying the pizza Sam had taken.  
It was fun to hear the men kidding around. They had finished their pizza already, and with the last slice, lots of it landed on her clothes.  
"Oh crap. I really hate this, being so clumsy," she exclaimed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her head.

"Kat? It's just pizza." Callen was surprised she suddenly reacted so angry.

"Just pizza. Yeah. Sure." She got up to find the bathroom, knowing she would have to change clothes now. Things like this made her mad.  
"George? Could you get me another pair of trousers and a shirt" she asked and reached for the clothes he handed her.

"Kat? Maybe you should rest a bit now. I'll drive Sam home. See you tomorrow, okay?" he said. "Good luck with the last checkups. I'm sorry I can't be around."

She looked quite sad.  
"Would a kiss cheer you up" he asked.  
Her soft 'yes' was the answer and Callen felt she was just as eager to feel him close to her as the other way around.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Kat was tired indeed. Being with Callen was good and she admitted to herself she fell in love with him.  
When she nearly was asleep, she heard a voice in the dark, near her.  
It must have been her years of training that enabled her to quickly dug away and kick her right leg as hard as she could towards where the voice in the dark came from. Only seconds from the yell of the person she had kicked, she managed to press the 'call-button' and she heard persons rushing in the corridor.

"Katherine? Are you okay?"  
She was so glad doctor Lee himself was around. "What happened?" he asked.

"It was—Please, can you call Callen?"

"Does he know? Have you—"

"No, he doesn't know" she said...

* * *

_**Please, review after reading!**_

**_Thanks!_**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N** _Far too difficult for me to complete the story. So you'll have to dowith this part for now..._

* * *

"You know you should have, Katherine, he—"

She interrupted softly "Don't you tell me what I should do, please."  
Doctor Lee looked at his patient and knew it must all be very difficult for her. From what his medical staff reported, Kat Franks did so well in the exercise room, struggling to get back in shape but above all, struggling with herself and with a probably complete different life to come.  
Mentally, it was even harder than physically. Until now, she could handle it.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Callen had just left Sam's house when his phone rang. Disturbed by what he heard he decided to drive back right away. Knocking on his partner's front door, it took a while before it opened.

"G! What's wrong"?

"Had a call from the hospital. An emergency call, actually. Do you want to join me?"

"Katherine?" Sam knew the answer beforehand and grabbed his jacket.

"Somebody attacked her Sam. They say she's alright, but I'm going to check anyway."

In Callen's opinion, rushing back to the hospital seemed to go far too slow. Sam was driving the Jaguar this time and they hardly spoke at all. When they entered the inner part of the hospital, the part where Kat stayed, there was security staff right now.

"They weren't here before, were they?" Sam asked. They were cleared to enter the secluded area.  
In front of Kat's room there was an LAPD officer and another hospital's security officer. Sam and Callen were both stopped in there. Inside, Kat sat on the bed and she was talking with another LAPD officer. Without blinking, Kat seemed to be looking straight at Callen.

"NCIS. We'll take over from here," Callen said to the LAPD officer. "Our jurisdiction." It was after he spoke that she blinked a few times. "George!" she said relieved.

"What happened Kat? They called to tell you someone attacked you. Did you recognize who?"

She looked away from him. "No, I didn't. It was a woman."

"What did she look like? Would you pick her out of the surveillance images? We can—"

"No… No I ehm… I would not know."

The door to Kat's room was closed from the outside; through the window Callen saw doctor Lee speaking with Sam.

"Kat, you don't know if you don't try".

She was quiet for a while, then she looked up. There was one single tear on her cheek. "I heard her. George... She said 'nu ai văzut asta venind' and she was right. I did not see it coming."  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Callen—you know, after Avalon… I ehm… Oh dammit—George, I can't see anything at all anymore."

Kat could not see what there was to see in Callen's blue eyes. Disbelief, compassion, sorrow, helplessness and ice cold anger. He did not say anything at all. She heard him rise, take something from the bed and walk to the door.

"Callen? Where are you going? Callen?!"

She could not believe what just happened; the only person she needed right now simply walked away from her without saying a word.  
The door was opened and she heard Sam, shouting to his partner. "G, you can't do this. G!"

Kat just sat there, motionless. Then, there were the soft but big steps of Sam Hanna coming in.

"Katherine… he does that. For G it's difficult to express his feelings. He—"

"I don't care. I don't need his pity nor yours and I certainly don't need **YOU** to explain how **HE** feels. Go away. I'll be fine," she said.

Sam heard her words, as if Callen's words were echoing. "You are just as stubborn. Unbelievable" he mumbled.

"I never asked you to judge my character". Kat knew her words were not fair. "Please, just leave".

Instead of leaving, Sam sat down next to her, touched her arm and then embraced her. That did it. The tears that she had felt pricking her eyes suddenly were there and she could not stop crying.

"I don't want this Sam. I want to leave this stupid hospital room, I want to be somewhere I can feel at home and be safe and I want to sleep. I don't want to exercise on counting my steps and training to use my hands to feel, I want to see, I need to be outside and I want to go away," she sobbed.

Sam tried to comfort her the best he could although he knew she needed and wanted Callen more than Callen seemed to realize.

"It's okay, hush now, it's okay now. You will be safe for this night, so get some sleep Katherine".

She still sniffed when doctor Lee came in.

"Katherine? You need to rest. Maybe for once we should administer some medicines to get you asleep. After what happened, you look exhausted. The scans and medical examinations tomorrow will use lots of energy, you need it."

Kat had been reluctant to use any medication, unless it was to stop the headaches she was suffering from. Now, she nodded. It would be good to forget, not to think of Callen right now and sleep as long as she could.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Sam stayed with Kat until she had closed her eyes and he saw she really slept well.  
He arranged there would be a continuing watch near her room before he decided to call his bullheaded partner. It came as no surprise to Sam that Callen had switched his phone off, against protocol. Looking at the time, he grinded his teeth. It was far too late to call Hetty or Eric if there was no immediate reason.  
G. Callen got off the grid, like he did before if things were getting personal. Getting the walls up and hiding in plain public.

Sam concluded he might just as well go home to his family and have a good night's rest.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

This part of the hospital should be carefully watched by security staff and camera's. It was weeks ago when Callen had ignored a subconscious feeling when he had visited Kat early in the morning without being halted.  
He felt sick to know how an easy target she had been and Callen had to get away from the hospital to literally catch some air. Knowing the one that attacked her spoke Romani, it must have been somebody who accomplished Comescu. Without showing up himself, Dracul Comescu knew exactly how to press certain buttons and his rage turned to Kat now, knowing if something happened to her, it would hurt Callen as well.

He took another look at the envelope with pictures taken of Kat, either in the hospital room, but also in the corridors, with a physician in an examination room, in the gym…  
There was a small note going with the pictures said 'există întotdeauna cineva care să mă uit' [there will always be someone to watch me]. The envelope had been pinned in the bed by a knife and Callen had trouble to get rid of the nauseous feeling of the message and of the fact that the knife could have been used on Kat as well.

He tried hard to deny it, but Callen experienced that opening up to Kat was more difficult to him than go undercover in dangerous missions. It meant feelings might get hurt and he did not know how to cope with that right now.  
The only thing he needed to do right now to express his feelings and crap, that was tougher than he thought it might be. Still, he owed her an apology, so he had to go back.

This time he had to ID himself twice and there was a guard in front of her room who stopped him.

"I'll need to check with medical staff to ask if you're allowed to enter her room, sir".

Callen was about to ignore the man but managed to inhale a sharp reply. He was glad he saw a nurse who had seen him before and who told the guard it was alright.

Closing the door behind him, he sat down next to the bed, simply just watching Kat who was deep asleep. Curled up beneath the blankets she looked innocent, even vulnerable. It reminded him of the first night he spent in Avalon. To his surprise, Kat had proven to be much tougher than one would expect.

Callen caressed her arm, careful not to wake her. "I won't let them hurt you anymore, Kat", he whispered. Then, his lips touched hers very gently. Even in her sleep she reacted to it, she slowly stretched and moaned softly. He smiled and hoped she had some great dreams indeed.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

At 6.30 AM special agent G. Callen worked out in the gym that belonged to the NCIS Office of Special Projects.  
After another nearly sleepless night he had decided to run to the office. It had not cleared his head, so instead of taking up some early paperwork, he was now hitting and kicking the boxing column.

Once he had hit some of his anger and frustrations away, he made fresh coffee before he went for a long and hot shower. Dressed in black boxers only he picked a fresh shirt and jeans from Hetty's wardrobe. Barefoot, he walked back, got dressed and took his first cup of coffee, enjoying the hot beverage while trying to read one of the early morning newspapers. It took a lot of effort to concentrate, however.

One by one, agents came in. Nell and Eric quickly took the stairs to their technical operation center and Kensi and Deeks came in, eating and bickering before they headed for the gym.  
There was Hetty who entered. She used a small stool to reach the hook where she put her coat and bag. After stepping down, she came toward Callen.

"Any news from the hospital that I should know of, Mr Callen?"

"You probably know all there is to know, Hetty." He tried to act indifferent, not looking her in the eyes because he knew the older woman would see right through every whirl of his mind.

"Does it change any of your feelings for the girl, Mr Callen?"

He got up. "I see no reason to discuss this right now, right here". He turned around and went upstairs, not aware of the soft chuckle of the operation manager behind him.

"Oh dear, the boy doesn't know how to deal with this case".

"Having fun, Hetty?" Sam entered and noticed the satisfied smile on the petite woman's face.

"Yes. Yes, I do Mr Hanna, but I see no reason to discuss this right now, right here". Oh-my, it was great quoting the lead agent for once, she thought.

"Have you seen G in here? There is something I need to discuss with him and I would have kicked his ass earlier if he had turned on his phone".

"Oh, Mr Hanna, from what I see is that Mr Callen has been in here for some hours already. It must have been 'such a night' again for him."

"Maybe he deserved it this time Hetty. He should be aware of other people having terrible nights instead of walking away from them. But I should not discuss this with you."

"Yet, you do". She sighed. "Anything I can do about it?"

"Perhaps you can". Sam smiled as a sudden plan came to his mind. "I might ask you a favor, later today."

Before there was a chance for them to discuss there was a shrill whistle from Eric. Together with Hetty, Sam went to ops where to his surprise his partner was already waiting.

While Eric touched his tablet several pictures were put on the big screen. "These were found on Katherine's bed last night", Callen said. "As you can see, they're all made by an insider or with camera's hidden around her room."  
He tried to sound as neutral as ever. "There was a note going with the picture. Eric?"

As ever, Eric only had to use only on other button to put on screen what Callen was talking about. "It's Romanian. That is why we should have reason to believe there is a connection with Comescu, who has reasons enough to harm her. Which also means that she might get hurt even now".

"Knowing that there might be a Comescu involved, Mr Callen, is reason enough for me to keep you grounded".

"Hetty! You can't do this. Not now," he shouted.

"I can and I will and I will not listen to your disapproval, arguments or pleadings".

The team were all quiet, not used to a sharp discussion between the leading agent and the operation manager.  
Without any further words Callen walked out of ops. He now really wanted to kill some unknown enemies in the shooting range.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

He reloaded several times and all the targets were hit by his typical trademark. Always two shots that should do it, Hetty noticed.  
The angry grim there had been at first, was replaced by pure concentration. There was this last series of shots, then he put away the gun and took off the goggles and the headset.

"Someone will always watch me." Callen looked at the tiny woman, standing next to him, her sad gaze now for him only. "These words, agent Callen, were the ones I heard only once, spoken by a little boy whom I picked up from a Romanian beach."

He looked away, knowing that if he kept looking at her, he'd hurt her because she understood all there was to understand.  
"Dear boy, I understand how this all affects you. Your team will manage for now, Mr Callen. They will find out what needs to be found out. Now, let us have a cup of tea."

* * *

**_Right... Still no happy ending, yet. On it's way, though. _**


	20. Chapter 20

_**All good things come to an end... This is really the last chapter of Avalon. Please let me know if you liked it!**_

* * *

On their way to the hospital, the three of them had been quieter than usual. It had surprised them Hetty decided to keep Callen off this case.

"Really, I thought that Romanian stuff might have gone when the vampire left the country," Deeks said.

A wry smile from Sam was sent his way. "The guy won't stop as long as G Callen is around. And G is right. The anger turns towards Katherine now."

"We might find out who's responsible for it. Right? It would help them both".

"Ah, do I hear my partner wish for a happy ending? I knew you had a romantic side, I knew it!" The only response Deeks got for this remark was one of the too many punches Kensi used on him lately.

"Kids, stop playing around," Sam said. "Once we're there, you'll go for video footage, I'll check the room and corridors, okay?" That's what they planned to do. All turned out differently when they arrived in the inner parts of the hospital and security personnel was rushing to one of the operation rooms.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Kat still felt tired although she slept quite long. The sadness of last night had faded mostly to make place for the nervous anticipation of the tests there were to come.  
Doctor Lee had taken her to a cold room where Kat was lead onto an operation's bed. He then explained there would be a long scan of her brains, followed by a series of tests. Because of the tests and the period she would have to stay as motionless as possible, she would need some sedation.

"Nicky will assist me and doctor Leonard today. Doctor Leonard will be there all the way during the scans, I'll be doing the test afterwards. We'll know more soon," he said, trying to sound as assuring as possible for this patient. "Do you have any questions right now, Katherine?"

"Uhm. Exactly hów soon do I know if—if I'll be blind forever?" She hated the word and she feared the fact it might come true.

"Immediately after. Katherine, what will you do—".

"I don't want to talk about it." Kat could not remember that she had ever been so scared of something in her life before. She was used to rely on herself, was prepared to stress when she had to go undercover for longer periods and brought in the bad guys. Sure, she was nervous than but never this kind of fear to have no control over what was going to happen.  
"Let's get it done." It was more like a whisper.

"Right. We'll take care of it Katherine. Nicky, will you start administering the sedatives?"

The nurse nodded. Kat really hated it when there were people around she could not see and she did not know what they were doing. "Nicky? Please tell me what you will be doing?" she asked. There was no response now. "Nicky?"  
She heard somebody coming closer. Then, there was the sudden panic. The perfume, the vague smell of garlic and peppers; Kat had smelled this the night before. "You!"

"Dracul mi-a cerut să trimită salutary" [Dracul asked me to send his regards].

"No, oh no, no!" Kat swung her arm, but did not reach anything. There was this short prick only in her thigh before she managed to wipe away a syringe.  
She heard Dr Lee, there was shouting and suddenly there were more people around. That was what she registered until her breathing hurt and the headache suddenly got so bad that her head seemed to explode.  
She got angry when somebody slapped her face. Sam Hanna's voice "Hey, Kat, you stay around. Don't dare to quit" and he did it again, not firm, but he slapped her and it maddened her.  
Firm arms that held her. "Keep her still. Katherine, this is adrenaline. You'll need it now." There was another needle puncturing her forearm. "One more to come. Good girl." Now she quickly drifted off to a deep sleep.

Deeks and a security officer had handcuffed the nurse and took her out of the room.

"I—Erhm … I never expected this," said an upset Dr. Lee. "Nicky works for us for some months already. We checked her background… Really."

"It's alright. Most important thing is that Katherine is safe now," Sam said. "Why did you hit her Sam? You hurt her, I could see it and Kat was angry." Kensi asked. The physician answered. "To let the adrenaline rush. Thank you for the quick action Mr Hanna. We need to find out what it was Nicky injected. It put her body in this sudden shock, but for now miss Franks is safe and we should continue according to scedule. I need to find a new nurse to assist now, so if you'll excuse me?"

"One last question. Once you're done in here and Kat will be awake, does she have to stay in here?"  
Dr Lee needed a minute to ponder this question. "It depends on how she feels and how the results will be. Physically, there should be no problems with it."

"Thank you", Sam answered.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It took about two more hours to find out that nurse Nicky Tarnett was really Nicoleta Tarniceri and in no way related to Comescu. She had been desperate to do what she did because of serious threats that something would happen to her family in Romania. Despite of that, the woman was put in custody.  
Hetty had informed Callen about what happened in the hospital. He wanted to go there, although the immediate threat was gone and he reasoned that he would not allowed in the examination room. He had to kill time until then.

It was way past lunchtime when Deeks, Kensi and Sam returned from the boathouse to the office, not really looking forward to finish the paperwork that was waiting for them in there. There was no trace of their team leader in the bullpen.

"Hetty can I have a word with you please?" Sam had planned something that he needed to discuss. "I was thinking about the safety and wellbeing of Katherine Franks. I just had this phonecall with Dr Lee. If Katherine feels alright, how about she stayed at my place?"

"Your place Mr Hanna?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows. "Well, ehm. For today that is. I think there is a better place but I'd need your cooperation for that." He looked at the tiny lady and saw she knew exactly what he was talking about.  
"Consider it done" she said with a satisfied smile. "I'll make all the arrangements. Now, rush, back to your paperwork".

"Is G around?" Sam wanted to know.

"Last time I saw him he was in ops working with Nell." He nodded and went to his own desk, making two more calls before he took up the paperwork. Around four thirty, his partner still hadn't shown up behind the desk, so Sam decided to pick him up. Nell had left already but Callen was still working with her computer, concentrating on Photosynth, timetables and more.

"G, any news on Katherine yet?" Sam asked.

Callen looked up. "Was about to check on her round five."

"How about a barbecue after that? Michelle just called, she insists you'll be around. You know how I am with those things. She trusts you better I guess."

"Uh-hu".

"G! It's time to lay down your arms for now. I'll join you to the hospital, you're going to have a barbecue at my place. Won't take no for an answer. Now close this system and let's go." Sam was not surprised to see that his partner was looking for intel about Comescu in the systems at ops. All he heard was another "Uh-hu", but he was glad to see Callen rise and come with him.

Half an hour later, Callen was really mad when he heard that Kat had been taken to a safe house by the authorities. Lee was not around and nobody could tell him how the tests had gone.

"We call Hetty from my place" Sam suggested. "Perhaps she knows more. Besides that, you should first let some steam off. You look mad as hell, if you're calling her now there's a chance the ninja suspends you, G." Callen sighed, for once agreeing with his reasonable partner. Once at Sam's place, he called. "Hetty, what about Kat leaving the hospital and staying in a safe house?" Callen asked directly, knowing Hetty would recognize his number. He was never the person for long introductions and neither was Hetty. "Ah, Mr Callen, the girl. You'll hear soon, I promise".

"Well?" Sam was curious if Callen heard more, but his partner shook his head. "G, you know, don't wait to say what you want to say, days will pass and the chances you have may go by".

"Who are you, my mother?" It was much sharper than he wanted it to sound. "Wait, I'm sorry Sam. It's just that…" he looked away for a moment "You know, maybe I'm afraid to get hurt. Or even worse, to hurt her."

"Did you tell her, does she know how you feel?"

"No". He bit his underlip and to Sam he looked like a teenager right before his first date. Callen continued "No. I wanted to tell her, but she was sleeping when I came in."

"First chance you have, tell her G. Don't wait. Remember, 'one day'? Now, I'll get us something to drink."

Callen concentrated on the barbecue, feeling some of the tension fade away. "You may tell me. I'm not afraid, you know." Her soft voice came from behind him and he turned around quickly. "Kat!? How come—"  
"Easily lost for words?" She looked great, happier than he remembered, softly swinging on the children's swing. There was a slight smirk when she asked "Are you going to say anything, G Callen?"

"Not now. Not in here. Let's go".

"Wait, how about the barbecue, you must tell Sam" she said. "Although I must say, I suspect he planned this very carefully". The only thing Callen said was "He'll understand".

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

"I'm not that good with words." Callen told her. He'd taken her to the beach near the apartment he stayed temporarily.

"Not with words? Have you got anything else in mind?" Kat knew she was teasing him. It seemed for months now she was longing to go on with what had started on Avalon. "George? Please let me feel what you mean…" she softly asked "I'll answer, okay?"

She did not see his blue eyes darken slightly, but she felt his lips and his hands and his body exactly where she wanted.  
"I know a place where no-one else sees us. Come with me, please". He guided her across the street to the apartment. He let Kat feel what he wanted to say. And yes, it was better and sweeter than she had dreamt of. There was so much more to discover.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Sam looked at his partner in the passenger seat, completely relaxed, eyes closed, a faint smile and obviously enjoying the sun shining on his face. The change in Callen's mood was good but Sam knew it would be foolish to ever mention that. He had liked Katherine Franks right from the beginning and it never surprised him that things turned out just like they did.

"Still no changes?" he asked.  
"No. It worries her, she had hoped it would be alright by now". Although the blindness should be temporarily, Kat still wasn't able to see. Callen chuckled softly. "We still feel good, though".

Sam's phone rang and he put it on speaker. "Yeah?"  
"This is detective Williams of the special taskforce Hawaii fiveO. I believe you know my partner Steve McGarrett? Well, the reason why I call you is about a suspect in here and we believe he is on your watch list, Dracul Comescu?"

All of a sudden, the relaxed atmosphere changed. "Are you telling us Comescu is in Hawaii?" Callen asked.

"We found his fingerprints at a murderscene so yes, we think so". The Hawaii agent was curious. "What is your history with this guy?"  
"A very personal one", Callen answered. He breathed in, not exactly knowing what he wanted to share with detective Williams. Sam looked at his partner and continued. "Dracul is part of an Romanian organized crime family and let's just say that we just ended the family business not too long ago".  
"Ah, well, now he seems to have a new hobby. He may have gotten his hands on the small pox virus. Listen, there is a military flight coming in this night. How do you feel about pineapples?"

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Actually, Hetty had been reluctant to let her two senior special agents leave for Hawaii. As ever, it terrified her that this particular Comescu was still around, full of hate against Callen and perhaps more dangerous than ever. The formal SecNav call overruled all.

"Mr Callen, a word, please?" Hetty halted him when he was about to join Sam to the car. "Please do take care. After all, there is this history between the two of you." She was far from happy to see the determined and nearly angry look in his eyes, taking over the relaxed smiles she had loved to notice.  
"Sure Hetty. We'll be alright. Ehm… could you ehm, could you keep a watch on Kat?"

"Will do so, don't worry." And then, for both sakes, she shooed him to the door.

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

It was in the late afternoon they arrived at Hawaii and they were briefed by detectives Williams. "So, how bad is it" Callen wanted to know. Williams explained there were no new cases of small pox, but that they still hadn't found out if anyone else had been effected. He suggested Comescu might have spent time in Siberia to find the virus in there. Callen thought differently. "Dracul's main agenda is making money, not terrorism. Our guess is he found a buyer for this biological weapon."

"You mean this guy is risking worldwide epidemic just to make some cash?" Williams asked.

"Without even blinking".

o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)o)

Together with Williams, Chin and Kono they were able to find a warehouse belonging to the Comescu holding. From there and with a little help of the driver of Dracul, they found out there was a sale planned at the international market the next day. Once they found the Chechens on the market, they would have to wait for Comescu. Knowing there would be money to make, the guy would show up anyway. And so he did, although he fled once he saw Callen. Trying to avoid any visitors of the market getting hurt, Callen managed to intercept Comescu.

"Well well, agent Callen. You come all this way to see me? I'm honored".

"Don't flatter yourself. I came for the wheather. Now, if you want to get off this island alive, set down that briefcase and step away." Callen spoke the words, but he never believed Comescu would give up the way he asked. He kept his gun at the ready.

"You... You destroyed my life!" the Romanian said, full of hate. Callen responded "Right back at 'ya!"

Very slowly, Comescu seemed to do exactly what Callen asked. He put the case on the bench. After that, his hand reached into the coat.

"Hands where I can see them!" It was clear Comescu did not stop and for a while, Callen doubted what to do. Then, there was the Romani 'că te urăsc!' [I hate you] and the other hand of Dracul reached for the gun.

It took two shots to stop Dracul. Two shots, only two, to stop a lifetime of hatred and vendetta. Callen carefully took the vial Comescu had taken from his coat, opened the small case and was glad it was the missing one. Behind him Sam arrived, followed by the Hawaiian officers Chin and Williams.

"G, are you alright?" Sam asked, worried since he understood Callen found Comescu and he heard them talking and shouting and then, after the shouting, he heard the shots.  
"Just recovered the only missing vial of small pox. So yeah, I'm good." Looking his partner in the eyes, Sam softly said "I wasn't talking about small pox."

Callen sighed. "I know."  
He sat down on the bench, looking down at the dead body of last man of the family who had hunted him for so many years and who had destroyed so many dear lifes…

He then took his phone to make a call. "Kat, it's over, I got him. No more Comescu to chase or be chased by. I'll be home soon".

**Home. It really felt good.**

* * *

inspired by Dashboard Confessional | Don't wait

* * *

_Thanks for your support! Hope you're willing to review. _

* * *

The sky glows  
I see it shining when my eyes close  
I hear your warnings but we both know  
I'm gonna look at it again

Don't wait, Don't wait  
The road is now a sudden sea  
And suddenly, you're deep enough  
To lay your armor down


End file.
